In this study spatial and temporal variations in limnological characteristics of a dam located in one of the headwaters of the São Lourenço River (Campo Verde, MT) were evaluated. The surrounding area is used for soybeans cultivation, corn, cotton, and pasture. We examined biotic (heterotrophic bacteria and chlorophyll a) and abiotic factors (precipitation, air and water temperature, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, total phosphorus, nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia nitrogen) at three sampling sites along the longitudinal axis of the water body, and at three depths (at the surface, the Secchi depth, and at the sediment-water interface). Samples were taken bimonthly during 2010. Spearman correlation analysis was used to examine the relationship between biotic and abiotic variables, and then principal components and cluster analyses were used to study the relationship between these factors and the variability observed among the various sampling sites, dam depths, and periods of observation. The analyses showed a strong correlation between factors such as rainfall, heterotrophic bacteria, conductivity, turbidity, and phosphorus, indicating the influence of seasonality in cultivated areas. It was observed that the variations between the sampling sites were more significant (p < 0.01) than in the water column for most of the variables, probably due to the particular characteristics of each sample point and its shallow water column.
agricultural activities; water resources; multivariate statistics