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Rybak M, Rosińska J, Wejnerowski Ł, Rodrigo MA, Joniak T. Submerged macrophyte self-recovery potential behind restoration treatments: sources of failure. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 15:1421448. [PMID: 39081521 PMCID: PMC11286398 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1421448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2024] [Accepted: 06/27/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024]
Abstract
When exploring the challenges of restoring degraded lakes, we often do not observe the expected results despite executing all planned activities. Our study elucidates the reasons that impede the recovery of submerged macrophytes despite ameliorated light conditions. When prolonged lake degradation occurs, subsequent efforts to increase light availability often prove insufficient, resulting in a persistent turbid water state. In this study, we attempted to determine the reasons for these failures through a germination test and propagule bank analysis conducted in bottom sediments from a severely degraded lake, which underwent restoration. Although the bottom sediments indicate relative potential in the number of oospores and seeds, their germination efficacy remained dismally low. Based on the germination test results and factors affecting the development of submerged macrophytes (physical and chemical parameters, lake morphology), we stated that improvement of light conditions in the lake could be insufficient to recover the vegetation, especially when the potential to renew diverse plant communities from sediments naturally is low. Our findings advocate for a paradigmatic shift in lake restoration strategies. A holistic approach that includes propagule bank assessments before embarking on restoration initiatives and enabling the identification of macrophyte resurgence potentials is recommended. We also advocate for a multifaceted restoration framework, emphasizing the indispensability of augmenting natural recovery mechanisms with targeted interventions. Consequently, in some cases, macrophyte reintroduction could be the only solution. By reintroducing autochthonic species to site-specific ecological dynamics, we anticipate an increased success rate in restituting submerged vegetation, thus catalyzing ecological regeneration within degraded lake ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michał Rybak
- Department of Water Protection, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
| | - Joanna Rosińska
- Department of Environmental Medicine, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland
| | - Łukasz Wejnerowski
- Department of Hydrobiology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
| | - Maria A. Rodrigo
- Integrative Ecology Group, Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of València, Paterna, Spain
| | - Tomasz Joniak
- Department of Water Protection, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
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Xu J, Liu J, Hu J, Wang H, Sheng L, Dong X, Jiang X. Nitrogen and phosphorus removal in simulated wastewater by two aquatic plants. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2021; 28:63237-63249. [PMID: 34227002 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-15206-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Water pollution control is the focus of environmental pollution control. Ecological water treatment is widely used because of its low cost and landscape effect, and has no pollution. Aquatic plants have attracted wide attention because of their low cost and high level of resource utilization. In order to study the effects of emergent and submerged plants on the removal of different concentrations of wastewater, and the effect of pollutants on plant growth, two common aquatic plants found in Northeast China (Iris ensata Thunb. and Potamogeton malaianus Miq.) were selected. Under static conditions, the removal efficiency of nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater with different concentrations by two kinds of plants was studied. The results showed that the removal rate of total nitrogen (TN) in medium- and high-pollutant concentration water samples and total phosphorus (TP) in medium- and low-pollutant concentration water with I. ensata reached more than 75%. The removal rate of TN in the medium-pollutant concentration water with P. malaianus reached 71.4%, while the removal efficiency of TN and TP in the low-pollutant concentration water was higher than 80%. In the Nanhu Park Lake samples, I. ensata had the highest removal rates of TN (80.38%) and TP (85.62%). This study shows that both I. ensata and P. malaianus can be used as aquatic plants to restore the water quality of urban lakes. This research provides an important basis for the phytoremediation and treatment of urban domestic wastewater and urban surface water bodies in Northern China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianling Xu
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration / School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Jingyue Street 2555, Changchun, 130017, China.
| | - Jiao Liu
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration / School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Jingyue Street 2555, Changchun, 130017, China
| | - Jiaqi Hu
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration / School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Jingyue Street 2555, Changchun, 130017, China
| | - Hanxi Wang
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration / School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Jingyue Street 2555, Changchun, 130017, China.
| | - Lianxi Sheng
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration / School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Jingyue Street 2555, Changchun, 130017, China
| | - Xiaoliang Dong
- , Nanhu Park, Gongnong Road 2715, Changchun, 130021, China
| | - Xiaodan Jiang
- , Nanhu Park, Gongnong Road 2715, Changchun, 130021, China
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Zheng Yarong, Rong S, Wei D, Yan W. Correlation between Riparian Plant Communities and Plantpropagule Banks in Dicun Stream. J WATER CHEM TECHNO+ 2021. [DOI: 10.3103/s1063455x20060120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Ge Y, Zhang K, Yang X. Long-term succession of aquatic plants reconstructed from palynological records in a shallow freshwater lake. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 643:312-323. [PMID: 29940443 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2018] [Revised: 06/16/2018] [Accepted: 06/16/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Aquatic plants in shallow freshwater lakes play a key role in stabilizing ecological function and providing valuable ecosystem services, yet they are severely degraded worldwide. An improved understanding of long-term aquatic plant succession is critical to investigate the potential driving mechanisms and to facilitate ecological restoration. In this paper, we reconstructed changes in the aquatic plant community over the past century based on palynological records from Changdang Lake, Middle and Lower Yangtze River Basin (MLYB), China. Our results reveal that aquatic plants in Changdang Lake have undergone three clear phases: emergent macrophytes dominated the aquatic vegetation in the 1900s-1970s, submerged macrophytes in the 1970s-1990s, and floating macrophytes increasingly after the 1990s. Significant changes in the aquatic plant communities were caused by increasing anthropogenic pressures, such as damming and nutrient loading from agriculture, aquaculture, and urbanization after the Chinese economic reform. We argue that Changdang Lake is currently in a transition phase between a macrophyte-dominated state and an algae-dominated state. Our palynological record is different from many contemporary studies, which suggest submerged plants dominated most lakes in this region before the 1950s. We suggest that the return of the aquatic plants to their 1970s-1980s state would be a realistic target for lake restoration. Our results show that palynological records can reveal long-term dynamics of macrophytes in shallow lakes for sustainable lake restoration and management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yawen Ge
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East Beijing Road, 210008 Nanjing, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049 Beijing, PR China
| | - Ke Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East Beijing Road, 210008 Nanjing, PR China.
| | - Xiangdong Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East Beijing Road, 210008 Nanjing, PR China.
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van Zuidam JP, Peeters ET. Occurrence of macrophyte monocultures in drainage ditches relates to phosphorus in both sediment and water. SPRINGERPLUS 2013; 2:564. [PMID: 24255858 PMCID: PMC3825067 DOI: 10.1186/2193-1801-2-564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2013] [Accepted: 10/14/2013] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Monocultures of functional equivalent species often negatively affect nutrient cycling and overall biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems. The importance of water and sediment nutrients for the occurrence of monocultures was analysed using field data from drainage ditches. Ranges of nutrients were identified that best explained the occurrence of monocultures of Elodea nuttallii (Planch.) St. John (Waterweed type), monocultures of duckweed (Duckweed type) and the occurrence of a diverse submerged vegetation (Mixed type). Results indicated these three vegetation types occurred at distinctive ranges of phosphorus in water and sediment. Sediment phosphorus distinguished monocultures from the Mixed type, with the two monocultures occurring at two to four times higher concentrations. The Waterweed type occurred at higher sediment phosphorus levels than the mixed type, showed a higher degree of dominance and lower number of red list species. Phosphorus concentrations in water were four to six times higher in the Duckweed type compared to the Waterweed and Mixed type. The three vegetation types had comparable total biomass which was unexpected. This comparability was likely caused by duckweed only growing at the water surface at the highest nutrient levels and the limited space in drainage ditches for increased submerged biomass development at high nutrient availability. Possible measures to limit the occurrence of monocultures, and thereby increasing the ecological quality, are discussed with focus on lowering phosphorus concentrations in both water and sediment and on removal of plant species that develop into monocultures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeroen P van Zuidam
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands ; Ecology & Biodiversity Group, Utrecht University, PO Box 80.058, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Wu J, Cheng S, Li Z, Guo W, Zhong F, Yin D. Case study on rehabilitation of a polluted urban water body in Yangtze River Basin. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2013; 20:7038-7045. [PMID: 23247519 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-012-1351-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2012] [Accepted: 11/20/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
In the past three decades, the fast development of economy and urbanization has caused increasingly severe pollutions of urban water bodies in China. Consequently, eutrophication and deterioration of aquatic ecosystem, which is especially significant for aquatic vegetation, inevitably became a pervasive problem across the Yangtze River Basin. To rehabilitate the degraded urban water bodies, vegetation replanting is an important issue to improve water quality and to rehabilitate ecosystem. As a case study, a representative polluted urban river, Nanfeihe River, in Hefei City, Anhui Province, was chosen to be a rehabilitation target. In October 2009 and May 2010, 13 species of indigenous and prevalent macrophytes, including seven species emergent, one species floating leaved, and five species submersed macrophytes, were planted along the bank slopes and in the river. Through 1.5 years' replanting practice, the water quality and biodiversity of the river had been improved. The concentrations of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and ammonia nitrogen (NH4 (+)-N) declined by 46.0, 39.5, and 60.4 %, respectively. The species of macrophytes increased from 14 to 60, and the biodiversity of phytoplankton rose significantly in the river (p<0.05). The biomasses of zooplankton and benthos were also improved after the vegetation replanting. The study confirmed that vegetation replanting could alleviate the increasing water pollution and rehabilitate the degraded aquatic ecosystem. The case study would be an example for polluted urban waters restoration in the middle-downstream area of Yangtze River Base.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Wu
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, China
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Pierce SC, Kröger R, Pezeshki R. Managing artificially drained low-gradient agricultural headwaters for enhanced ecosystem functions. BIOLOGY 2012; 1:794-856. [PMID: 24832519 PMCID: PMC4009802 DOI: 10.3390/biology1030794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2012] [Revised: 11/01/2012] [Accepted: 11/02/2012] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Large tracts of lowlands have been drained to expand extensive agriculture into areas that were historically categorized as wasteland. This expansion in agriculture necessarily coincided with changes in ecosystem structure, biodiversity, and nutrient cycling. These changes have impacted not only the landscapes in which they occurred, but also larger water bodies receiving runoff from drained land. New approaches must append current efforts toward land conservation and restoration, as the continuing impacts to receiving waters is an issue of major environmental concern. One of these approaches is agricultural drainage management. This article reviews how this approach differs from traditional conservation efforts, the specific practices of drainage management and the current state of knowledge on the ecology of drainage ditches. A bottom-up approach is utilized, examining the effects of stochastic hydrology and anthropogenic disturbance on primary production and diversity of primary producers, with special regard given to how management can affect establishment of macrophytes and how macrophytes in agricultural landscapes alter their environment in ways that can serve to mitigate non-point source pollution and promote biodiversity in receiving waters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel C Pierce
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39762, USA.
| | - Robert Kröger
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39762, USA.
| | - Reza Pezeshki
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USA.
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