The tropical zone contains a great variety of natural and artificial freshwater aquatic environments, in which vascular aquatic plants are important components in the dynamics and maintenance of ecosystems.
▶ In the tropics, they influence the trophic structure of the system since, as primary producers, they contribute a large part of the energy and nutrients to the system through the process of decomposition.
▶ Credits: mdatatechjcu – [Image of Public Domain]
Plant species play an important role in the process of ecological succession. On the other hand, in recent years, in various aquatic ecosystems of the country we found a phenomenon of ecological importance, such as the explosive growth of aquatic plants, mainly floating and emergent, and the disappearance of submerged species, in response to the eutrophication process caused by human activities.
The problems generated by the excessive growth of these plants in lakes and rivers include, among others, water anoxia, disappearance of fish species and other organisms, and obstruction of canals and rivers.
For the above mentioned reasons, there is a need to describe taxonomically and morphologically the species of aquatic angiosperms present in the tropics, as well as to determine the life forms in which the aquatic species are found.