Abstract Drought events will become more frequent due the climate change. In floodplains, periphytic algae are responsible for part of the primary production, are the principal source of organic carbon deposition, play an important role in mineralization and nutrient cycling, and are the base of the food web for many organisms. As algae distribution in aquatic environments is a strong indicator of physical and chemical conditions of the sites, we aimed to determine the structure of periphytic algae in lentic and lotic environments during drought conditions and to uncover the main local abiotic factors in community structuring. We hypothesized diatoms would be more frequent than green algae and desmids at both sites, due to their resistance characteristics,... |