Freshwater wetland plant communities of northern Belize: implications for paleoecological studies of Maya wetland agriculture

Plant species composition and standing crop in relation to soil and water characteristics were studied to determine which environmental variables are responsible for structure and distribution of marshes in northern Belize. Sampling sites were located in the floodplains of the Rio Hondo and New River and within karstic depressions in the interfluves of the two rivers. Relationships among environmental variables and the occurrence of the individual marsh types, in particular those dominated by Cladium jamaicense. Eleocharis cellulosa. and Typha domingensis were investigated using canonical correspondence analysis. Discriminant analysis was used to select a reduced set of variables for predicting the distribution of dominant species. Eleocharis cellulosa marshes dominated areas with soil and water of high conductivity due to high content of gypsum and calcium carbonate. Nutrient concentrations, namely nitrogen and phosphorus, were very low Conditions were rather similar in sawgrass marshes (Cladium jamaicense), except for higher water depth and lower conductivity Marshes dominated by Typha domingensis occupied areas with higher content of nitrogen and phosphorus. Discriminant functions developed for these three marsh communities can be used to help interpret paleoecological data and infer ancient Maya impacts upon marsh development.