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

Jian Zhou, Xu Pan, Haiting Xu, Qi Wang and Lijuan Cui
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Jian Zhou: Institute of Wetland Research, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
Xu Pan: Institute of Wetland Research, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
Haiting Xu: Institute of Wetland Research, Chinese Academy of Forestry, 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

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 4, 1-10

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.

Keywords: biodiversity; sustainability; biological invasion; wetland ecology; resource heterogeneity; water; Ceratophyllum demersum; Myriophyllum spicatum (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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