Open AccessEffects of ammonium pulse on the growth of three submerged macrophytes
Author(s) -
Xiaoyao Tan,
Guixiang Yuan,
Hui Fu,
Hui Peng,
Dabing Ge,
Qian Lei,
Jun Zhong
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0219161
Subject(s) - macrophyte , myriophyllum , aquatic plant , ammonium , biomass (ecology) , pulse (music) , botany , biology , nutrient , ecology , chemistry , physics , organic chemistry , detector , optics
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 NH 4 -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 NH 4 -N pulse caused negative effects on the biomass of the submerged macrphytes even on the 13th day after releasing NH 4 -N pulse. The negative effects on M . spicatum were significantly greater than that on V . natans and P . maackianus . The effects of NH 4 -N pulse on specific species depended on the ammonium loading patterns. The negative effects of NH 4 -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 NH 4 -N pulse patterns. Low light availability did not significantly aggregate the negative effects of NH 4 -N pulse on the growth of the submersed macrophytes. Our study contributes to revealing the roles of NH 4 -N pulse on the growth of aquatic plants and its species specific effects on the dynamics of submerged macrophytes in lakes.