PVI

PVI is a measure of the percentage of a waterbody's volume that contains aquatic macrophytes. Historically, PVI was an abbreviation for the phrase percent volume infested with aquatic plants. Recently it has become an abbreviation for the more neutral phrase percent volume inhabited . Regardless of the terminology, PVI is used to assess the abundance and importance of aquatic macrophytes in a waterbody.

In Florida
Waterbodies in the Florida LAKEWATCH database have PVI values ranging from 0 to 100%. In Florida, PVI values are strongly linked with the biological productivity and trophic state of waterbodies as described below:

In the least biologically productive (oligotrophic) waterbodies, PVI values are generally very low.

In moderately biologically productive (mesotrophic) waterbodies and highly productive (eutrophic) waterbodies dominated by aquatic plants, PVI values are higher than those measured in oligotrophic waterbodies.

Highly biologically productive (hypereutrophic) waterbodies dominated by algae usually have very low PVI values. Hyereutrophic waterbodies dominated by aquatic plants usually have very high PVI values.

See also:
Algae
Aquatic macrophyte
Average plant biomass
Trophic state

The information on this page was derived in part from the following publication of
Florida Lakewatch of the University of Florida Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.
This booklet may be downloaded in its entirety as a PDF file by clicking here.
Scroll down till you see the Circular 101 icon.

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