11 6 1806 the journal of biodiversity data 8 December 2015 Check List LISTS OF SPECIES Check List 11(6): 1806, 8 December 2015 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15560/11.6.1806 ISSN 1809-127X © 2015 Check List and Authors Aquatic and marsh plants from the Recôncavo basin of Bahia state, Brazil: checklist and life forms Lidyanne Yuriko Saleme Aona1*, Grênivel Mota da Costa1, Maria do Carmo E. do Amaral2, Aparecida Donisete de Faria3, Edson Ferreira Duarte1 and Volker Bittrich4 1 Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Ambientais e Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia, Rua Rui Barbosa, 710, Centro, 44380-000, Cruz das Almas, BA, Brazil 2 Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Instituto de Biologia, CP 6109, Universidade de Campinas – UNICAMP, 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brazil 3 Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Biologia Animal e Vegetal. Campus Universitário, CP 6001, 86057-970, Londrina, PR, Brazil 4 R. Mario de Nucci, 500, 13083-290 Campinas, SP, Brazil * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: Aquatic and marsh plants are those that intermediate conditions are always present. Aquatic have the capacity to withstand a continuous or periodic plants are also referred to as macrophytes, though there submersion in water, at least of their roots. Such plants is much disagreement on the use of this term (Cook are thus able to occupy environments that are at least 1990; Ferreira et al. 2014). periodically waterlogged. The knowledge about this The term “aquatic macrophytes” was first used by plant group is still rather incomplete for various parts Weaver and Clements (1938), who defined them as her- of Brazil including the Northeast. The present study baceous plants growing in water, on waterlogged land, was conducted in Bahia state, through collections in or even in water-saturated soils. Raunkiaer (1934) called 20 municipalities within the Recôncavo basin between water-submerged plants, or those with floating leaves, 2009 and 2015. All species were classified across six hydrophytes. Iversen (1936) proposed the term “limno- life forms. We report 316 species in 206 genera and 71 phytes” to describe exclusively higher freshwater plants. families, including 11 fern species, with helophytes and Cook et al. (1974) and Cook (1985) used the term “aquatic emergent being the commonest ones. Collection efforts macrophytes” for all plants whose active photosynthetic in aquatic environments in the Recôncavo region added parts are permanently, or periodically, submerged or nine families of angiosperms to those already reported floating on water and which are visible to the naked eye. in previous studies of such plants in Northeastern In our study, we use the term macrophytes for Brazil. The region presents a wide variety of aquatic superior aquatic and marsh plants that spend all or part and marsh plants and the respective habitats play an of their life cycle in water or in a periodically flooded important role in the conservation/maintenance of substrate, and that are usually found in ponds, lakes, biodiversity and especially of water bodies in Eastern streams, rivers, on their margins, or nearby. Bahia. Because of the wide variation in the distribution of plants in an aquatic environment, several authors have Key words: wetland flora; Cyperaceae; helophytes also classified them according to their life forms or habit. On the basis of their position in relation to the water surface and degree of adaptation to the environment INTRODUCTION they may be divided into free-floating, fixed-floating, Aquatic and marsh plants are those that have free-submerged, fixed-submerged, emergent, or the capacity to withstand a continuous or periodic helophytes (Cook 1990). Plants of these groups are submersion in water, at least of their roots. Such plants distributed along the margins of the waterways in an are thus able to occupy environments that are at least organized manner, forming division zones from the periodically waterlogged (Amaral et al. 2008). This is a margins of the body of water to its interior, from the rather broad concept where even the terms “aquatic” emergent plants to the fixed-submerged ones (Cook and “marsh” are not strictly defined, and where 1990; Ferreira et al. 2014). Check List | www.biotaxa.org/cl 1 Volume 11 | Number 6 | Article 1806 Aona et al. | Aquatic and marsh plants of the Recôncavo basin of Bahia, Brazil Brazil has the largest hydrographic network in the the rainy and dry seasons. world, with the aquatic ecosystems of its rivers and All collected plant materials were prepared in lakes (permanent or temporary) often showing unique accordance with the methodology proposed by Mori et characteristics and considerable endemism (Bove et al. al. (1985) and a voucher for each species was deposited 2003). In order to guarantee their preservation as well at the Herbário do Recôncavo da Bahia (HURB, as improve their management, the study of plants in abbreviation according to Thiers 2015). Plant family such environments should be considered of primary classification is that of the APG III (2009) and species importance (Amaral et al. 2008). nomenclature is that found in the Plant List of Brazil Floristic approach has been prevalent in the surveys (Lista de Espécies da Flora do Brasil 2015). of aquatic plants in Brazil (Ferreira et al. 2014), carried Ecological groups were determined according to out for the most part in reservoirs (Pompeo and Cook (1990), using the following categories: helophytes, Moschini-Carlos 2003) of the Southeast, Midwest and fixed-floating, free-floating, emergent, epiphytes, fixed- Northeast (França et al. 2003; Neves et al. 2006; Amaral submerged, and free-submerged. Lorenzi (2008) and et al. 2008, Pivari et al. 2008; Cervi et al. 2009; Pivari et Moreira and Bragança (2011) were used to recognize the al. 2011; Kufner et al. 2011; Lima et al. 2011; Meyer and ruderal species. Franceschinelli 2011; Valadares et al. 2011; Araújo et al. Taxa identifications were made using specific 2012). These studies demonstrate taxonomic diversity literature, specimens studies at HURB and HUEFS of aquatic plants as well as different methods of herbaria (Herbarium of the State University of Feira morphological adaptation to the aquatic environment de Santana, Bahia), and by sending duplicates to plant (Esteves 1998; Alves et al. 2011.). However, there are experts for determination. Photographic records have large areas of the Brazilian Northeast that still lack been taken for all collected species. They will eventually basic information such as species lists of aquatic plants be used in the construction of a multiple-access (Moura-Jr. et al. 2013) and data sets on their ecology. interactive key for aquatic and marsh plants of the The objective of our study was to provide a floristic Recôncavo basin in Bahia (http://www2.ufrb.edu.br/ survey of the freshwater environments of the Recôncavo chave-plant-aq/). basin of Bahia, Northeastern Brazil. Such habitats of this region of Bahia are floristically poorly studied and RESULTS we consider this contribution as a start for further Floristic composition: a total of 316 plant species, studies of aquatic environments of the coastal regions distributed in 206 genera of 71 families have been of the state. collected (Table 1), with 11 species of ferns and lycophytes, distributed in eight genera and six families. MATERIALS AND METHODS Anemia and Salvinia are represented by three and two Study area species, respectively. The Recôncavo basin of Bahia comprises an area of Angiosperms are represented by 305 species, in 11,200 km2 and encompasses 20 municipalities (Cabaceiras 198 genera and 64 families. Cyperaceae was the most do Paraguaçu, Cachoeira, Castro Alves, Conceição do diverse family (39 species), followed by Poaceae (29), Almeida, Cruz das Almas, Dom Macedo Costa, Governa- Fabaceae (25) and Asteraceae (22). About 80% of angio- dor Mangabeira, Maragogipe, Muniz Ferreira, Muritiba, sperm families had less than five species in the studied Nazaré, Santo Amaro, Santo Antônio de Jesus, São Feli- environments. The most diverse genera with the highest pe, São Félix, São Francisco do Conde, São Sebastião do number of species were Eleocharis (12 species) and Cyperus Passe, Sapeaçu, Saubara, and Varzedo) (SEI 2015). It is (9). About 33%, or 99 of the 295 collected species, were part of the Atlantic Forest Phytogeographic Domain, ruderal plants. being bordered in the west by the Caatinga Domain. The predominant life form was helophyte, with 68.7% Its soil is commonly known as “massapê baiano”, being of the species, followed by emergent (24%), with the rest relatively fertile. The climate is quite varied due to the of life forms representing less than 3% (Figure 2). Among differences in relief, with coastal areas reaching annual the helophyte plants the most representative families mean temperatures of about 23°C, and the total amount were Fabaceae (22 species), Asteraceae (18), and Cypera- of rainfall exceeding 1,500 mm. Annual mean tempera- ceae (16), while the most representative genera were tures inland vary from 18°C in the higher-lying areas Cuphea (five species), Cyperus (four), and Ludwigia (four). and 22°C in lower areas, with an annual rainfall of 1,000 Among the emergent plants Cyperaceae (26 species) and mm (SEI 2015). Poaceae (6) were the dominant families, with Eleocharis (10 Floristic inventory: the inventory was performed species) and Cyperus (7) the most diverse genera. Among during periodic visits to the lotic and lentic aquatic the fixed-floating plants, Nymphaeaceae was predomi- environments in 16 of the 20 municipalities in the nant, with four species of Nymphaea. The best represented Recôncavo basin (Figure 1) from 2009 to 2015 through families of the free-floating plants were Salviniaceae (three Check List | www.biotaxa.org/cl 2 Volume 11 | Number 6 | Article 1806 Aona et al. | Aquatic and marsh plants of the Recôncavo basin of Bahia, Brazil Figure 1.