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Oxygen Transport through Selected Aquatic Macrophytes
Author(s) -
Moorhead K. K.,
Reddy K. R.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq1988.00472425001700010022x
Subject(s) - macrophyte , eichhornia crassipes , aquatic plant , wastewater , dns root zone , botany , environmental science , chemistry , horticulture , biology , agronomy , environmental engineering , ecology , irrigation
The extent of O 2 transport from aerial plant tissue into the root zone was evaluated for several floating and emergent aquatic macrophytes that have characteristics favorable for wastewater treatment. The highest O 2 transport rates from aerial tissue into the root zone were associated with plants having a small root mass. As root mass increased, the rate of O 2 transport decreased for aquatic macrophytes evaluated. Pennywort ( Hydrocotyle umbellata L.) had the highest O 2 transport rate of all aquatic macrophytes with an overall rate of 3.49 g O 2 kg −1 dry root mass h −1 . Pickerelweed ( Pontederia cordata L.) had the highest O 2 transport capacity of emergent plants with a rate of 1.54 g O 2 kg −1 h −1 . Waterhyacinth [ Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Sollms], an important floating aquatic plant in wastewater treatment, had a transport rate of 1.24 g O 2 kg −1 h −1 . Nitrification in a waterhyacinth‐based water treatment system due to O 2 transport was calculated to vary from 6 to 22 kg ha −1 d −1 .