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Effects of Aeration and Temperature on Nutrient Regeneration from Selected Aquatic Macrophytes¹

ABSTRACT

A batch incubation study was conducted to investigate the effect of aeration and temperature on the N and P release by decomposing aquatic macrophytes in eutrophic lake water. Nutrient release by waterhyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes [Mart] Solms), pennywort (Hydrocotyle umbellata L.), hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata L.), and cattails (Typha latifolia L.) was evaluated under aerobic conditions. Waterhyacinth plants tagged with ¹⁵N were used to determine the ¹⁵N release at varying temperature levels and under anaerobic (oxygen free) and low-dissolved O₂ (open system where the only O₂ source was diffusion through the overlying water) conditions.

Nutrient release was found to be rapid initially due to solubilization, followed by slow nutrient release as a result of microbial decomposition. Under aerobic conditions, NO₃^– formation in the water was found to be significantly related to C/N ratio of the plants. About 48 to 76% of the plant N and 67 to 90% of the plant P were released at the end of 105 d of aerobic decomposition. After 94 d, about 86 and 88% of ¹⁵N was released from the plant tissue under anaerobic and low-dissolved O₂ conditions, respectively. Nitrogen and phosphorus release were significantly increased with increase in incubation temperature.

Key Words: aquatic system • decomposition • anaerobic conditions • nitrogen • phosphorus • waterhyacinth • pennywort • hydrilla • cattails

¹ Florida Agric. Exp. Stn. Journal Series no. 4869.

² Graduate Assistant, Associate Professor, Agric. Res. & Education Center, Inst. of Food & Agric. Sci., Univ. of Florida, Sanford, FL 32771; and Associate Professor, Soil Sci. Dep., IFAS, Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.

Received for publication June 24, 1983.