Biodiversity Conservation and Survival Factors of Charophyte Algal Communities in Protected High-Mountain Lakes of Kaçkar Mountains National Park (Rize, Turkey)

Abstract

The composition and diversity of the sensitive benthic Charophyta were examined in 13 lakes and 1 pond located in the Kaçkar Mountains National Park during the summer and autumn months of 2020. While a total of 78 taxa were identified, Cosmarium became the main genus of the flora with 33 species. In the flora, the filamentous members of the Charophyta (12 species) were also noteworthy. Intraspecies variability is very high, with a Subspecies/Species index of 1.11, which reflects the sensitivity of the identified charophyte flora as an indicator of conservation efficiency. The physico-chemical analysis results and bioindicator species indicate that the investigated waters are fresh, with low salinity and a circumneutral or slightly alkaline pH, and are not organically polluted. Comparative statistics and RDA divide the studied lakes into two clusters (northern and southern in the park territory) and reveal the complex factors related to salinity and oxygen saturation as regulators of species abundance in communities.