%0 Journal Article
%T The Lower Paraguay river-floodplain habitats in the context of the Fluvial Hydrosystem Approach
%A Edmundo C. Drago
%A Karl M. Wantzen
%A Aldo R. Paira
%J Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology
%@ 2080-3397
%D 2008
%I 
%R 10.2478/v10104-009-0004-1
%X We report herein the first description of the physical structure of the aquatic habitats of the Lower Paraguay River along 390 km from Asunci¨®n city (Paraguay) to the confluence with the Paran¨¢ River. The hierarchical ordination of the Fluvial Hydrosystem Approach (FHA) allowed us to classify the Lower Paraguay as a meandering functional sector where five functional sets were identified: (a) main channel, (b) floodplain channel, (c) floodplain lentic water body, (d) tributary, and (f) aquatic-terrestrial transition zone. These functional sets encompassed twenty one functional units and fifty eight major mesohabitats. We attribute the riverine habitat diversity to the changes in the channel-floodplain morphology and in the strength, duration and frequency of their hydrological connectivity. The variable river-floodplain-tributary complex developed several types of fluvial-lacustrine boundaries and riverine ecotones.
%K Large river
%K physical habitat
%K connectivity
%K boundaries
%K ecotones
%U http://versita.metapress.com/content/74401906150n0j83/?p=124153b57e3d46c88cf55fc4f1210510&pi=3