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A Chlorophyll a Trophic Status Classification System for South African Impoundments
Author(s) -
Walmsley R. D.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq1984.00472425001300010018x
Subject(s) - trophic level , chlorophyll a , chlorophyll , environmental science , standard deviation , mean value , ecology , mathematics , biology , statistics , botany
Chlorophyll a data from 24 South African impoundments were examined with the objective of developing a trophic status classification system. For the combined data set, standard deviation of the mean annual chlorophyll a concentration displayed an almost 1:1 linear relationship to the mean, indicating a wide annual variation in chlorophyll a for most impoundments. There appeared to be no common seasonal pattern to the occurrence of chlorophyll a maxima and minima, leading to the conclusion that trophic status was best described by a statistical parameter based on annual data (notably the mean value). Statistically significant empirical formulae that relate both the maximum value and the frequency of occurrence of specific chlorophyll a ranges to the mean annual value were established, and their potential use in the assessment of trophic status and impoundment management is described.