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Effects of epiphytic algae on biomass and physiology of Myriophyllum spicatum L. with the increase of nitrogen and phosphorus availability in the water body

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Abstract

The disappearance of submerged vascular macrophytes in shallow eutrophic lakes is a common phenomenon in the world. To explore the mechanism of the decline in submerged macrophyte abundance due to the growth of epiphytic algae along a nutrient gradient in eutrophic water, a 2 × 3 factorial experiment was performed over 4 weeks with the submerged macrophyte (Myriophyllum spicatum L.) by determining the plant’s biomass and some physiological indexes, such as chlorophyll (Chl) content, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the leaves of M. spicatum L. on days 7, 14, 21, and 28, which are based on three groups of nitrogen and phosphorus levels in the water body (N-P [mg L−1]: NP1 0.5–0.05, NP2 2.5–0.25, NP3 4.5–0.45) and two levels of epiphytic algae (the epiphytic algae group and the control group). Epiphytic algal biomass was also assayed. The results indicated that epiphytic algal biomass remarkably enhanced in the course of the experiment with elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in the water. Under the same level of nutrient condition, plants’ biomass accumulation and Chl content were higher in the control group than that in the epiphytic algae group, respectively, while MDA content and SOD activity in the former were lower than that in the latter. The influences of epiphytic algae on the biomass accumulation and Chl content and MDA content became greater and greater with elevated levels of nutrients. In general, in this experiment, water nutrients promoted the growth of both epiphytic algae and submerged plants, while the growth of epiphytic algae hindered submerged macrophytes’ growth by reducing Chl content and promoting peroxidation of membrane lipids in plants.

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Acknowledgements

The authors greatly acknowledge G. Gao for his language editing. We also thank B. Qin for his help and encouragement. This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (No. 41471446)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Agricultural Meteorology, School of Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, No.219, Ningliu Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210044, China

    Yu-Zhi Song & Jin-Qi Wang

  2. Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center on Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology (CICAEET), Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, No.219, Ningliu Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210044, China

    Yu-Zhi Song & Yong-Xia Gao

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  1. Yu-Zhi Song
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  2. Jin-Qi Wang
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Correspondence to Yu-Zhi Song.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Song, YZ., Wang, JQ. & Gao, YX. Effects of epiphytic algae on biomass and physiology of Myriophyllum spicatum L. with the increase of nitrogen and phosphorus availability in the water body. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 9548–9555 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8604-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8604-6

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