Tan X, Yuan G, Fu H, Peng H, Ge D, Lou Q, Zhong J. Effects of ammonium pulse on the growth of three submerged macrophytes.
PLoS One 2019;
14:e0219161. [PMID:
31339879 PMCID:
PMC6662033 DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0219161]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Ammonium pulse attributed to runoff of urban surface and agriculture following
heavy rain is common in inland aquatic systems and can cause profoundly effects
on the growth of macrophytes, especially when combined with low light. In this
study, three patterns of NH4-N pulse (differing in magnitude and
frequency) were applied to examine their effects on the growth of three
submersed macrophytes, namely, Myriophyllum spicatum,
Potamogeton maackianus, and Vallisneria
natans, in terms of biomass, height, branch/ramet number, root
length, leaf number, and total branch length under high and low light. Results
showed that NH4-N pulse caused negative effects on the biomass of the
submerged macrphytes even on the 13th day after releasing NH4-N
pulse. The negative effects on M. spicatum
were significantly greater than that on V.
natans and P. maackianus.
The effects of NH4-N pulse on specific species depended on the
ammonium loading patterns. The negative effects of NH4-N pulse on
P. maackianus were the strongest at high
loading with low frequency, and on V. natans
at moderate loading with moderate frequency. For M.
spicatum, no significant differences were found among the
three NH4-N pulse patterns. Low light availability did not
significantly aggregate the negative effects of NH4-N pulse on the
growth of the submersed macrophytes. Our study contributes to revealing the
roles of NH4-N pulse on the growth of aquatic plants and its species
specific effects on the dynamics of submerged macrophytes in lakes.
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