Characteristics of the Phytoplankton Community Structure and Water Quality Evaluation in Autumn in the Huaihe River (China)

As an important indicator of phytoplankton in water quality evaluation, the phytoplankton community structure is very sensitive to changes in water quality, and analyzing their community composition and function is of great significance for the ecological management and maintenance of watershed environments. To understand the environment and ecological status as well as reconstruct or restore a healthy aquatic ecosystem in the Huaihe River Basin in China, a comprehensive phytoplankton survey was conducted in the main stream and main tributaries of the Huaihe River in 2019. A total of 266 species or genera of phytoplankton were identified, mainly belonging to Bacillariophyta and Chlorophyta. The number of phytoplankton species upstream and downstream was higher than that in the middle. The results of phytoplankton biomass showed significant spatial differences in different river reaches (p < 0.05). The identified phytoplankton functional groups (FGs) were divided into 27 groups, including 16 representative functional groups (RFGs), followed by A, B, F, G, H1, J, K, L(M), L(O), M, MP, P, T, T(B), W(O) and X2. The mean values of the Shannon–Wiener index and Margalef index were 2.47 and 2.50, respectively, showing that most of the water in the Huaihe River Basin was in a state of moderate nutritional status. The results of this study provided a reference for studying the composition and distribution of phytoplankton communities, nutrient status, and pollution levels in the Huaihe River Basin, as well as in other similar watersheds.