CHLOROPHYLL-a CONCENTRATION IN THE LOWER KAFUE RIVER AND CHONGWE RIVER BASINS

SUMMARY

The concentration of chlorophyll a was measured in the warm monomictic impoundment, Itezhi-tezhi Lake ([xbar] = 2,00 mg m⁻³); in the small, slightly polluted Chongwe Dam ([xbar] = 11,0 mg m⁻³); and in the temporary Mungasiya River ([xbar] = 53,4 mg m⁻³). The average standing crop of the periphyton of green filamentous algae in the Chongwe River reached 28,3 mg m⁻². The highest concentrations of chlorophyll ([xbar] = 69,6 mg m⁻²) were found in the Cyanophyta community of the extreme biotope of Longola Hot Springs.

KEY WORDS:

• Chlorophyll a
• phytoplankton
• periphyton
• Zambia