Determination of ecological quality of rivers in the Kahramanmaraş by macrophyte index

Since water is an indispensable factor for life, the quality of water is extremely important. Freshwaters are threatened resources due to climate change and human-induced consequences. Macrophytes are organisms that can be expressed as aquatic plants that are in the water for a few months or all of the year, some parts of which are above the water, are either free on the surface or can grow upwards from the water. Within the scope of the European Water Framework Directive, macrophytes are a biological quality component used in the determination of ecological quality in aquatic ecosystems. In the study, it was aimed to evaluate the species-stressor relations and ecological quality status of the rivers by making macrophyte sampling from 25 river stations in Kahramanmaraş in the spring and autumn periods of 2021 according to the Water Framework Directive. 54 macrophyte species were identified at stations in Kahramanmaraş. During the study, Mentha longifolia, Mentha sp., Juncus sp., Cladophora glomerata, and Carex sp. species were common. Canonical conformity analysis (CCA) showed significant effects on the macrophyte distribution of total phosphorus (TP), nitrite (NO2), solvent oxygen (DO), electrical conductivity (EC), bromate (Brm) and boron (B) among streams. Optimum levels of macrophyte species against environmental variables were determined according to weighted average regression analysis. According to the index results, the ecological quality status of the rivers was seen between bad and good. The results of this study provided important information about the ecology of macrophyte species in various streams and underlined the estimation of the ecological status of streams.