Growth, morphology and C/N metabolism responses of a model submersed macrophyte, Vallisneria natans, to various light regimes

Jianfeng Chen; Qingchuan Chou; Wenjing Ren; Haojie Su; Meng Zhang; Te Cao; Tianshun Zhu; Leyi Ni; Zugen Liu; Ping Xie

Ecological Indicators (Mar 2022)

Growth, morphology and C/N metabolism responses of a model submersed macrophyte, Vallisneria natans, to various light regimes

Jianfeng Chen,
Qingchuan Chou,
Wenjing Ren,
Haojie Su,
Meng Zhang,
Te Cao,
Tianshun Zhu,
Leyi Ni,
Zugen Liu,
Ping Xie

Affiliations

Jianfeng Chen: Jiangxi Academy of Environmental Sciences, Nanchang 330039, China; Institute for Ecological Research and Pollution Control of Plateau Lakes, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; Donghu Experimental Station of Lake Ecosystems, State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China; Poyang Lake Eco-economy Research Center, Jiujiang University, Jiujiang 332005, China
Qingchuan Chou: Donghu Experimental Station of Lake Ecosystems, State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China
Wenjing Ren: Donghu Experimental Station of Lake Ecosystems, State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China
Haojie Su: Institute for Ecological Research and Pollution Control of Plateau Lakes, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
Meng Zhang: Jiangxi Academy of Environmental Sciences, Nanchang 330039, China
Te Cao: Donghu Experimental Station of Lake Ecosystems, State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China
Tianshun Zhu: College of Life Science, Zaozhuang University, Zaozhuang 277160, China
Leyi Ni: Donghu Experimental Station of Lake Ecosystems, State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China
Zugen Liu: Jiangxi Academy of Environmental Sciences, Nanchang 330039, China; Corresponding authors at: Jiangxi Academy of Environmental Sciences, 1131# Hongdu North Road, Nanchang 330039, China ((Z. Liu). Institute of Hydrobiology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, 7# Donghu South Road, Wuhan 430072, China (P. Xie).
Ping Xie: Institute for Ecological Research and Pollution Control of Plateau Lakes, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; Donghu Experimental Station of Lake Ecosystems, State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China; Corresponding authors at: Jiangxi Academy of Environmental Sciences, 1131# Hongdu North Road, Nanchang 330039, China ((Z. Liu). Institute of Hydrobiology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, 7# Donghu South Road, Wuhan 430072, China (P. Xie).

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 136
p. 108652

Abstract

Read online

Decreased underwater light availability is one of the most important environmental factors leading to the decline in submersed macrophytes in lakes. However, previous studies mostly focused on a relatively short time scale and lack data on the continuous monitoring of plant life history traits under different light conditions. The present experiment studied the growth, morphology and C/N metabolism of a representative submersed macrophyte, Vallisneria natans, in response to various light regimes (2.8%, 7.1%, 17.1%, and 39.5% ambient light intensity) over a period of 12 months. The results showed that the total biomass and ramet number increased with increased light intensity; in contrast, individual biomass, leaf number and maximum leaf length decreased with increased light intensity. The C/N metabolism indices of V. natans indicated that leaves were the most sensitive to light availability, stems were moderately sensitive, and roots were the least sensitive. V. natans grown in an extremely low-light environment exhibited decreased soluble carbohydrate (SC) and starch and increased free amino acid (FAA) and total nitrogen (TN) levels. The increasing function of the ramet number under different light regimes was fitted. The obtained maximum environmental capacity of the ramet number (K) and the days that the ramet number reached K/2 in each treatment are useful for lake V. natans restoration and seedling cultivation in similar limited-resource environments. Harvesting partial ramets properly and maintaining the ramet number near K/2 could ensure the maximum increase rate of the population to satisfy the demand of V. natans seedlings for lake restoration. The results obtained in this study can be used for lake water level management to achieve specific purposes during submerged macrophyte recovery, such as plant height elongation or plant population quantity expansion.

Published in Ecological Indicators

ISSN: 1470-160X (Print); 1872-7034 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science: Biology (General): Ecology
Website: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/ecological-indicators

About the journal

Abstract

Keywords