Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Does hydroelectric reservoirs affect the structure of surrounding tree communities? A test of hypotheses in subtropical South America

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Brazilian Journal of Botany Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Despite its advantages over other energy sources, hydropower facilities are recognized as causes of terrestrial and freshwater environmental impacts. A deeper understanding of hydropower effects on surrounding riparian forests is thus important to the development hydropower facilities of less impact on the environment as well as to define criteria to manage the vegetation in the vicinity of large hydroelectric dams. We compared tree community structure on forest slopes exposed to a hydropower reservoir created in 2005 with control ones, in the biodiversity-rich subtropical forests of southern Brazil. Field data were collected between 2009 and 2011 on six forest slopes of which three were affected by the rise in water level caused by a hydropower dam, while the other three were in nearby sites unaffected by damming. Ninety 10 × 10 plots were set along six 50 m × 10 m transects. Forest structure was significantly affected by vicinity of reservoir, but this effect differed significantly between different tributaries of the Pelotas River. Rarefaction curves showed homogeneity in species richness among the studied hills. Composition differed significantly between reservoir and control areas. Variance partition results showed that pure reservoir effects explained a fraction of the variance in floristic composition comparable to environmental factors. Vicinity to reservoir was the main factor able to distinguish between communities in the studied system in a multiple regression tree. Our results highlight that hydroelectric facility building produces more extensive damage to remnant native forests than anticipated and that even forests upslope from reservoir border may suffer rapid structural and compositional degradation due to changes in environmental conditions caused by altered hydrology.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alves LF, Vieira SA, Scaranello MA, Camargo PB, Santos FAM, Joly CA, Martinelli LA (2010) Forest structure and live aboveground biomass variation along an elevational gradient of tropical Atlantic moist forest. For Ecol Manag 260:679–691

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson MJ (2001) A new method for non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance. Austral Ecol 26:32–46

    Google Scholar 

  • ANEEL—Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica (2015) Banco de informações de geração. http://www.aneel.gov.br/aplicacoes/capacidadebrasil/capacidadebrasil.cfm. Accessed 12 Sept 2015

  • Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009) An update of the angiosperm phylogeny group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III. Bot J Linn Soc 162:105–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aubert E, Oliveira Filho AT (1994) Análise multivariada da estrutura fitossociológica do sub-bosque de plantios experimentais de Eucalyptus spp. e Pinus spp. em Lavras, MG. Rev Árvore 18:194–214

    Google Scholar 

  • Baldeck CA, Harms KE, Yavitt JB, John R, Turner BL, Valencia R, Navarrete H, Davies SJ, Chuyong GB, Kenfack D, Thomas DW, Madawala S, Gunatilleke N, Gunatilleke S, Bunyavejchewin S, Kiratiprayoon S, Yaacob A, Supardi MNN, Dalling JW (2012) Soil resources and topography shape local tree community structure in tropical forests. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol 280:20122532

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bale CL, Willians JB, Charley JL (1998) The impact of aspect on forest structure and floristics in some Eastern Australian sites. For Ecol Manag 110:363–377

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baselga A (2010) Partitioning the turnover and nestedness components of beta diversity. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 19:134–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Behling H, Pillar VDP (2007) Late Quaternary vegetation, biodiversity and fire dynamics on the southern Brazilian highland and their implication for conservation and management of modern Araucaria forest and grassland ecosystems. Philos Trans R Soc B 362:243–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borcard D, Gillet F, Legendre P (2011) Numerical Ecology with R. Use R! Series. Springer, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Broadbent E, Asner GP, Keller M, Knapp D, Oliveira P, Silva J (2008) Forest fragmentation and edge effects from deforestation and selective logging in the Brazilian Amazon. Biol Conserv 140:142–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Cabral DC, Cesco S (2008) Notas para uma história da exploração madeireira na Mata Atlântica do Sul-Sudeste. Ambient Soc 1:33–48

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chao A, Chazdon RL, Colwell RK, Shen T (2005) A new statistical approach for assessing similarity of species composition with incidence and abundance data. Ecol Lett 8:148–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colwell RK (2009) Estimates: statistical estimation of species richness and shared species from samples. Version 8.2. User’s guide and application. http://purl.oclc.org/estimates. Accessed 10 Dec 2010

  • De’ath G (2002) Multivariate regression trees: a new technique for modeling species-environment relationships. Ecology 83:1105–1117

    Google Scholar 

  • Driscoll D, Lindenmayer D (2009) Empirical tests of metacommunity theory using an isolation gradient. Ecol Monogr 79:485–501

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dufrene M, Legendre P (1997) Species assemblages and indicators species: the need for a flexible asymmetrical approach. Ecol Monogr 67:345–366

    Google Scholar 

  • Elerwein A (2013) Disappearing rivers—the limits of environmental assessment for hydropower in India. Environ Impact Asses 43:135–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fearnside PM (1995) Hydroelectric dams in the Brazilian Amazon as sources of ‘greenhouse’ gases. Environ Conserv 22:7–19

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fearnside PM (1999) Social impacts of Brazil’s Tucuruí Dam. Environ Manag 24:485–495

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fearnside PM (2001) Environmental impacts of Brazil’s Tucuruí Dam: unlearned lessons for hydroelectric development in Amazonia. Environ Manag 27:377–396

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fearnside PM (2005) Brazil’s Samuel Dam: lessons for hydroelectric development policy and the environment in Amazonia. Environ Manag 35:1–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fearnside PM (2014) Impacts of Brazil’s Madeira River Dams: unlearned lessons for hydroelectric development in Amazonia. Environ Sci Policy 38:164–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finer M, Jenkins CN (2012) Proliferation of hydroelectric dams in the Andean Amazon and implications for Andes-Amazon connectivity. PLoS ONE 7:e35126

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Fontaine M, Aerts R, Özkan K, Mert A, Gülsoy A, Süel H, Waelkens M, Muys B (2007) Elevation and exposition rather than soil types determine communities and site suitability in Mediterranean mountain forests of Southern Anatolia, Turkey. Forest Ecol Manag 247:18–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forgiarini C, Souza AF, Longhi SJ, Oliveira JM (2015) In the lack of extreme pioneers: trait relationships and ecological strategies of 66 subtropical tree species. J Plant Ecol 8:359–367

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gabinete do Planejamento e Coordenação Geral—GAPLAN (1986) Atlas de Santa Catarina. Aerofoto Cruzeiro, Rio de Janeiro

    Google Scholar 

  • Gonçalves ET, Souza AF (2013) Floristic variation in ecotonal areas: patterns, determinants and biogeographic origins of subtropical forests in South America. Austral Ecol 39:122–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gotteli NJ, Colwell RK (2001) Quantifying biodiversity: procedures and pitfalls in the measurement and comparison of species richness. Ecol Lett 4:379–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guarino ESG, Barbosa AM, Waechter JL (2012) Occurrence and abundance models of threatened plant species: applications to mitigate the impact of hydroelectric power dams. Ecol Model 230:22–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harper KA, Macdonald SE, Burton PJ, Chen J, Brosofske JD, Saunders SC, Euskirchen ES, Roberts D, Jaiteh MS, Esseen P (2005) Edge influence on forest structure and composition in fragmented landscapes. Conserv Biol 19:768–782

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Homeier J, Breckle S, Günter R, Rollenbeck RT, Leuschner C (2010) Tree diversity, forest structure and productivity along altitudinal and topographical gradients in a species-rich Ecuadorian montane rain forest. Biotropica 42:140–148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jost L (2006) Entropy and diversity. Oikos 113:363–375

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein RM (1978) Mapa fitogeográfico do Estado de Santa Catarina. Sudesul, Fatma, HBR, Itajaí

    Google Scholar 

  • Laurance WF (2000) Do edge effects occur over large spatial scales? Trends Ecol Evol 15:134–135

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Laurance WF, Curran TJ (2000) Impacts of wind disturbance on fragmented tropical forests: a review and synthesis. Austral Ecol 33:399–408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laurance WF, Camargo JLC, Luizão RCC, Laurance SG, Pimm ST, Bruna EM, Stouffer PC, Williamson GB, Benítez-Malvido J, Vasconcelos HL, Van Houtan KS, Zartman CE, Boyle SA, Didham RK, Andrade A, Lovejoy TE (2011) The fate of Amazonian forest fragments: a 32-year investigation. Biol Conserv 144:56–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lees AC, Peres CA, Fearnside PM, Schneider M, Zuanon JAS (2016) Hydropower and the future of Amazonian biodiversity. Biodivers Conserv 25:451–466

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Legendre P (1993) Spatial autocorrelation: trouble or new paradigm? Ecology 74:1659–1673

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Legendre P, Borcard D, Peres-Neto PR (2005) Analyzing beta diversity: partitioning the spatial variation of community composition data. Ecol Monogr 75:435–450

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Legendre P, Mi X, Ren H, Ma K, Yu M, Sun I, He F (2008) Partitioning beta diversity in a subtropical broad-leaved forest of China. Ecology 90:663–674

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leibold MA, Holyoak M, Mouquet N, Amarasekare P, Chase JM, Hoopes MF, Holt RD, Shurin B, Law R, Tilman D, Loreau M, Gonzalez L (2004) The metacommunity concept: a framework for multi-scale community ecology. Ecol Lett 7:601–613

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin G, Stralberg D, Gong G, Huang Z, Ye W, Wu L (2013) Separating the effects of environment and space on tree species distribution: from population to community. PLoS ONE 8:e56171

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lippok D, Beck SG, Renison D, Hensen I, Apaza AE, Schleuning M (2013) Topography and edge effects are more important than elevation as drivers of vegetation patterns in a neotropical montane forest. J Veg Sci 25:724–733

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu W, Liu G, Liu H, Song Y, Zhang Q (2013) Subtropical reservoir shorelines have reduced plant species and functional richness compared with adjacent riparian wetlands. Environ Res Lett 8:044007

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lobo E, Dalling JW (2013) Effects of topography, soil type and forest age on the frequency and size distribution of canopy gap disturbances in a tropical forest. Biogeosciences 10:6769–6781

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lovett JC, Marshall AR, Carr J (2006) Changes in tropical forest vegetation along an elevational gradient in the Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Tanzania. Afr J Ecol 44:478–490

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maluf JRT (2000) Nova classificação climática do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Rev Bras Agrometeorologia 8:141–150

    Google Scholar 

  • McCune B, Grace JB (2002) Analysis of ecological communities. MJM software: Glenenden Beach, Oregon, US

    Google Scholar 

  • Moeslund JE, Arge L, Bøcher PK, Dalgaard T, Odgaard M, Nygaard B, Svenning JC (2013) Topographically controlled soil moisture is the primary driver of local vegetation patterns across a lowland region. Ecosphere 4:1–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers N, Mittermeier RA, Mittermeier CG, da Fonseca GAB, Kent J (2000) Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403:853–858

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nascimento FHF, Giulietti AM, Queiroz LP (2010) Diversidade arbórea das florestas alto-montanas no sul da Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brasil. Acta Bot Bras 24:674–685

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Negrini M, Higuchi P, Silva AC, Spiazzi FR, Buzzi Junior F, Vefago MB (2014) Floristic-structural heterogeneity of the tree component in a system of forest fragments in the Southern plateau of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Rev Árvore 38:779–786

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nilsson C, Reidy CA, Dynesius M, Revenga C (2005) Fragmentation and flow regulation of the world’s large river systems. Science 308:405–408

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Norden N, Chazdon RL, Chao A, Jiang Y, Vílchez-Alvarado A (2009) Resilience of tropical rain forests: tree community reassembly in secondary forests. Ecol Lett 12:385–394

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Økland RH (1999) On the variation explained by ordination and constrained ordination axes. J Veg Sci 10:131–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oliveira Filho AT, Fontes MAL (2000) Patterns of floristic differentiation among Atlantic Forests in Southeastern Brazil and the influence of climate. Biotropica 32:793–810

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pao HT, Fu HC (2013) The causal relationship between energy resources and economic growth in Brazil. Energ Policy 61:793–801

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peel MC, Finlayson BL, McMahon TA (2007) Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. Hydrol Earth Syst Sc 11:1633–1644

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pollmann W (2004) A long-term record of Nothofagus dominance in the Southern Andes, Chile. Austral Ecol 30:91–102

    Google Scholar 

  • Potter RO, Fasolo PJ, Carvalho AP, Flores CA, Bognola I, Rauen MJ, Cardoso A, Carvalho AP, Hochmuller DP, Ribas GC, Rachwal MC (2004) Solos do Estado de Santa Catarina. Embrapa solos, Rio de Janeiro

    Google Scholar 

  • Potvin C (1993) Anova: experiments in controlled environments. In: Scheiner S, Gurrevitch J (eds) Design and analysis of ecological experiments. Chapman and Hall, New York, pp 46–68

    Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team Development (2009) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for statistical computing, Vienna, Austria, v. 2.9.1. http://www.r-project.org

  • Ribeiro MC, Metzger JP, Martensen AC, Ponzoni FJ, Hirota MM (2009) The Brazilian Atlantic Forest: how much is left, and how is the remaining forest distributed? Implications for conservation. Biol Conserv 142:1141–1153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts DW (2009) Package ‘LABDSV’: ordination and multivariate analysis for ecology. Version 1.4. http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/labdsv/labdsv.pdf. Accessed 10 Nov 2010

  • Rosenfield MF, Souza AF (2014) Forest biomass variation in Southernmost Brazil: the impact of Araucaria trees. Rev Biol Trop 62:359–372

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scudeller VV, Martins FR, Sheperd GJ (2001) Distribution and abundance of arboreal species in the atlantic ombrophilous dense forest in Southeastern Brazil. Plant Ecol 152:185–199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silva WG, Metzger JP, Simões S, Simonetti C (2007) Relief influence on the spatial distribution of the Atlantic Forest cover on the Ibiúna Plateau, SP. Braz J Biol 67:403–411

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sist P, Nguyen-Thé N (2002) Logging damage and the subsequent dynamics of a dipterocarp forest in East Kalimantan (1990–1996). For Ecol Manag 165:85–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1995) Biometry: the principles and practice of statistics in biological research. Freeman, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Souza AF (2007) Ecological interpretation of multiple population size structures in trees: the case of Araucaria angustifolia in South America. Austral Ecol 32:524–533

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Souza AF, Martins FR (2005) Spatial variation and dynamics of flooding, canopy openness, and structure in a neotropical swamp forest. Plant Ecol 180:161–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Souza AF, Cortez LSR, Longhi SJ (2012) Native forest management in subtropical South America: long-term effects of logging and multiple-use on forest structure and diversity. Biodivers Conserv 21:1953–1969

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Souza AF, Forgiarini C, Longhi SJ, Oliveira JM (2014) Detecting ecological groups from traits: a classification of subtropical tree species based on ecological strategies. Braz J Bot 37:441–452

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sperling EV (2012) Hydropower in Brazil: overview of positive and negative environmental aspects. Energ Proc 18:110–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Still C, Foster P, Schneider SH (1999) Simulating the effects of climate change on tropical montane clound forests. Nature 398:608–610

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun R, Deng Wei-qiong, Yuan X, Zhang Y (2014) Riparian vegetation after dam construction on mountain rivers in China. Ecohydrology 7:1187–1195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tropicos (2016) Tropicos, botanical information system at the Missouri Botanical Garden. http://www.tropicos.org. Accessed 23 Apr 2016

  • Vale VS, Schiavini I, Araújo GM, Gusson AE, Lopes SF, Oliveira AP, Prado-Júnior JA, Arantes CS, Dias-Neto OC (2013) Fast changes in seasonal forest communities due to soil moisture increase after damming. Rev Biol Trop 61:1901–1917

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vázquez JA, Givnish TJ (1998) Altitudinal gradients in tropical forest composition, structure, and diversity in the Sierra de Manantlán. J Ecol 86:999–1020

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vellend M (2010) Conceptual synthesis in community ecology. Q Rev Biol 85:183–206

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Veloso HP, Rangel Filho ALR, Lima JCA (1991) Classificação da vegetação brasileira, adaptada a um sistema universal. IBGE, Departamento de Recursos Naturais e Estudos Ambientais, Rio de Janeiro

  • White TCR (2007) Flooded forests: death by drowning, not herbivory. J Veg Sci 18:147–148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams-Linera G (2002) Tree species richness, complementarity, disturbance and fragmentation in a Mexican tropical montane cloud forest. Biodivers Conserv 11:1825–1843

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Commission on Dams—WCD (2000) Dams and development: a new framework for decision-making—the report of the world commission on dams. Earthscan Publications Ltd, London, UK

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Financial support was provided by BAESA SA through a scholarship to LMU. The Florestal Gateados Ltda provided logistic support and authorization for fieldwork. The help of Cristiane Forgiarini, Daniele U. Matos, Fábio P. Torchelsen, Francine Maciel, Jéssica Jukowski, Patrícia Paludo, Thais Monero, Francini Souza, Douglas Lauxen, Douglas Almeida, and César Bartzen was essential in order to conclude the extensive field work required for this research and is much appreciated. We are grateful to Rafael Gomes de Moura and Aílton Mandião for sharing their knowledge on geoprocessing tools. Thanks to Tiago Closs De Marchi, João Larocca, Marcos Sobral for their help with taxonomic work and to Chico Inácio for sharing knowledge on local flora. Comments by Gerhard E. Overbeck, Jean Carlos Budke, and two anonymous reviewers greatly helped to improve an earlier version of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia: Diversidade e Manejo da Vida Silvestre, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Av. Unisinos 950, São Leopoldo, RS, 93022-750, Brazil

    Leonardo Marques Urruth & Juliano Morales Oliveira

  2. Departamento de Ecologia, CB, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Campus Universitário, Lagoa Nova, Natal, RN, 59072-970, Brazil

    Alexandre Fadigas Souza

Authors
  1. Leonardo Marques Urruth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alexandre Fadigas Souza
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Juliano Morales Oliveira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Leonardo Marques Urruth.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 20 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Urruth, L.M., Souza, A.F. & Oliveira, J.M. Does hydroelectric reservoirs affect the structure of surrounding tree communities? A test of hypotheses in subtropical South America. Braz. J. Bot 40, 705–715 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-017-0376-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-017-0376-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation