Abstract

Although planktonic algae are a basic component of freshwater ecosystems, studies on their diversity and species distribution are still not in satisfactory numbers. This study aims to contribute to Turkish freshwater algal flora particularly with the new records reported. A total of 158 Charophyta taxa were determined in the study conducted from 2017 to 2019 in 25 river basins of Turkey. In this study, while the highest Charophyta taxon was found in Sakarya and Batı Akdeniz basins with 50 and 42 taxa, respectively, Burdur basin was the only basin where we did not find the Charophyta species. The highest Charophyta diversity was observed in Girdev Lake (Batı Akdeniz basin) and Işık Dağı Karagöl Lake (Sakarya basin) among the lakes of Turkey’s 25 river basins. Thirty-one of these Charophyta taxa represent new records for the freshwater algal flora of Turkey. Of these, 13 species are commonly distributed, while 18 species have rare distribution areas. Morphology, ecology, and distribution of each taxon were also discussed in details.