DISTRIBUTION AND BIOINDICATION ROLE OF AQUATIC BRYOPHYTES IN BULGARIAN RIVERS

The distribution and abundance of aquatic bryophytes, and 10 physico-chemical parameters of river water have been studied in 204 river sites in Bulgaria, 15 river types. Forty-nine bryophyte species were registered at 51 sites. The commonest species were Platyhypnidium riparioides, Fontinalis antipyretica, Brachythecium rivulare and Leptodictyum riparium. Principal component analysis revealed that the sites with higher abundance of Leptodictyum riparium were in inverse correlation with sites where the rest 3 species occurred. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that 9 of the 10 selected environmental parameters significantly influenced bryophytes distribution. The study comprised and analyzed data from macrophyte surveys in Bulgaria undertaken as a part of two EU-funded projects during 2009.