Origin, evolution, and types of floodplain water bodies

Abstract

The interest from geomorphological and limnological standpoints is the analysis of the origin, evolution, morphometry, and abundance of floodplains lakes, which provides relevant information about the management of these wetland ecosystems. The Middle Paraná River contains a heterogeneous mosaic of lotic and lentic water bodies with changing shapes and areas according to the variable dynamics of the fluvial processes and the short- and long-term evolution of the different portions of the river floodplain. Thus, floodplain lotic and lentic environments can be eroded, filled, or enlarged at each flood event. The field data obtained from more than 30 years of the last century to the beginning ones, and the interpretation and analysis of the morphological structure of the floodplain lakes were accomplished using aerial photographs scaled from 1:20,000 to 1:50,000, Landsat satellite images and topographic charts (Paira 2003; Paira and Drago 2006). The aerial photographs and satellite images used were taken during mean and low water stages of the Paraná River. The aim of this chapter is to summarize a basin-wide characterization of the origin, shape, and morphological evolution of the floodplain lakes and its relationships with the aquatic and terrestrial vegetation and river dynamics.