IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v9y2017i4p565-d95215.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Invasive Eichhornia crassipes Affects the Capacity of Submerged Macrophytes to Utilize Nutrients

Author

Listed:
  • Jian Zhou

    (Institute of Wetland Research, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
    Beijing Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecological Function and Restoration, Beijing 100091, China
    Beijing Hanshiqiao National Wetland Ecosystem Research Station, Beijing 101309, China)

  • Xu Pan

    (Institute of Wetland Research, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
    Beijing Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecological Function and Restoration, Beijing 100091, China
    Beijing Hanshiqiao National Wetland Ecosystem Research Station, Beijing 101309, China)

  • Haiting Xu

    (Institute of Wetland Research, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
    Beijing Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecological Function and Restoration, Beijing 100091, China)

  • Qi Wang

    (Survey and Planning Institute of State Forestry Administration, Beijing 100714, China)

  • Lijuan Cui

    (Institute of Wetland Research, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
    Beijing Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecological Function and Restoration, Beijing 100091, China
    Beijing Hanshiqiao National Wetland Ecosystem Research Station, Beijing 101309, China)

Abstract

Invasion by free-floating species, such as Eichhornia crassipes , is one of the most critical threats to the biodiversity and sustainability of wetland ecosystems, where all plants experience spatial heterogeneity in substrate nutrients. However, few studies have focused on the effects of free-floating invaders on the capacity of submerged plants to utilize substrate nutrients. A 10-week greenhouse experiment was conducted to test the effects of free-floating invasive E. crassipes (presence or absence) on the growth of Ceratophyllum demersum and Myriophyllum spicatum , and their capacity to use heterogeneous and homogeneous substrate nutrients. We found that the invasion of E. crassipes could significantly decrease the growth of both submerged C. demersum and M. spicatum and that substrate nutrient heterogeneity increased the growth of C. demersum (approximately 30% in total biomass and 40% in the number of nodes) but not of M. spicatum . The two submerged species have different strategies to address invasion by E. crassipes . These results indicate that E. crassipes can prevent the growth of submerged plants even if the submerged plants can effectively use heterogeneous nutrients. For the effective conservation of submerged macrophytes in wetlands, measures should be taken to restrict the spread of invasive free-floating species.

Suggested Citation

  • Jian Zhou & Xu Pan & Haiting Xu & Qi Wang & Lijuan Cui, 2017. "Invasive Eichhornia crassipes Affects the Capacity of Submerged Macrophytes to Utilize Nutrients," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-10, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:4:p:565-:d:95215
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/4/565/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/4/565/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Caroline Hamelin & Daniel Gagnon & Benoit Truax, 2017. "Exotic Invasive Shrub Glossy Buckthorn Reduces Restoration Potential for Native Forest Herbs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-13, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:4:p:565-:d:95215. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.