Mass development of monospecific submerged macrophyte vegetation after the restoration of shallow lakes: Roles of light, sediment nutrient levels, and propagule density

Verhofstad, M.J.J.M.; Nuñez, Marta M. Alirangues; Reichman, E.P.; Donk, Ellen Van; Lamers, Leon P. M.; Bakker, Elisabeth S.

doi:10.1016/j.aquabot.2017.04.004

Cited by 54 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 61 publications

(76 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Seed banks in shallow lake sediments have often been assumed to be insufficient for recovery of submerged vegetation by germination, due to low numbers of viable seedlings, strong seed dormancy, strict germination cues and the reliance of many species upon vegetative reproduction (Haag, 1983 ; Kautsky, 1990 ; Rodrigo et al, 2013 ; Baldridge and Lodge, 2014 ). In contrast, De Winton et al ( 2000 ) and Verhofstad et al ( 2017 ) have shown that seed banks from even the most degraded lakes are capable of an emergence response and thus offer a potential means to restore vegetation. In our survey, the duration of complete macrophyte loss was often unrecorded, but periods of several decades are common (Tables 1 , 2 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Response of Submerged Macrophyte Communities to External and Internal Restoration Measures in North Temperate Shallow Lakes

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Submerged macrophytes play a key role in north temperate shallow lakes by stabilizing clear-water conditions. Eutrophication has resulted in macrophyte loss and shifts to turbid conditions in many lakes. Considerable efforts have been devoted to shallow lake restoration in many countries, but long-term success depends on a stable recovery of submerged macrophytes. However, recovery patterns vary widely and remain to be fully understood. We hypothesize that reduced external nutrient loading leads to an intermediate recovery state with clear spring and turbid summer conditions similar to the pattern described for eutrophication. In contrast, lake internal restoration measures can result in transient clear-water conditions both in spring and summer and reversals to turbid conditions. Furthermore, we hypothesize that these contrasting restoration measures result in different macrophyte species composition, with added implications for seasonal dynamics due to differences in plant traits. To test these hypotheses, we analyzed data on water quality and submerged macrophytes from 49 north temperate shallow lakes that were in a turbid state and subjected to restoration measures. To study the dynamics of macrophytes during nutrient load reduction, we adapted the ecosystem model PCLake. Our survey and model simulations revealed the existence of an intermediate recovery state upon reduced external nutrient loading, characterized by spring clear-water phases and turbid summers, whereas internal lake restoration measures often resulted in clear-water conditions in spring and summer with returns to turbid conditions after some years. External and internal lake restoration measures resulted in different macrophyte communities. The intermediate recovery state following reduced nutrient loading is characterized by a few macrophyte species (mainly pondweeds) that can resist wave action allowing survival in shallow areas, germinate early in spring, have energy-rich vegetative propagules facilitating rapid initial growth and that can complete their life cycle by early summer. Later in the growing season these plants are, according to our simulations, outcompeted by periphyton, leading to late-summer phytoplankton blooms. Internal lake restoration measures often coincide with a rapid but transient colonization by hornworts, waterweeds or charophytes. Stable clear-water conditions and a diverse macrophyte flora only occurred decades after external nutrient load reduction or when measures were combined.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Response of Submerged Macrophyte Communities to External and Internal Restoration Measures in North Temperate Shallow Lakes

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Even eutrophication is reflected only partly by key variables measured in the water column (Schneider et al, 2016), whilst macrophytes also depend on sediment quality and nutrient concentrations (Verhofstad et al, 2017). Secondly, and in contrast to phytoplankton, the response of macrophytes to nutrients appears to be mostly indirect, arising from reduced transparency due to shading by phytoplankton and epiphytes, and biotic interactions (Scheffer and van Nes, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Macrophyte assessment in European lakes: Diverse approaches but convergent views of ‘good’ ecological status

Poikāne

Portielje²,

Denys

et al. 2018

Ecological Indicators

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These systems are sensitive to alien plant invasions, when there are no native plants present. However, native rooted submerged plants can grow very well under these conditions ( Verhofstad et al, 2017 ), which may prevent invasion. If we would have provided nutrients in the water column in our experiment, and not in the sediment, the free submerged plants would have performed much better, and may have outcompeted the invader, whereas the rooted plants may have performed less well, even though nutrients would have precipitated on the sediment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms of Invasion Resistance of Aquatic Plant Communities

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Invasive plant species are among the major threats to freshwater biodiversity. Few experimental studies have investigated whether native plant diversity can provide biotic resistance to invaders in freshwater ecosystems. At small spatial scales, invasion resistance may increase with plant species richness due to a better use of available resources, leaving less available for a potential invader (Complementarity effect) and/or the greater probability to have a highly competitive (or productive) native species in the community (Selection effect). In submerged aquatic plant communities, we tested the following hypotheses: (1) invader establishment success is greatest in the absence of a native plant community; (2) lower in plant communities with greater native species richness, due to complementary and/or selection effects; and (3) invader establishment success would be lowest in rooted plant communities, based on the limiting similarity theory as the invader is a rooted submerged species. In a greenhouse experiment, we established mesocosms planted with 0 (bare sediment), 1, 2, and 4 submerged plant species native to NW Europe and subjected these to the South African invader Lagarosiphon major (Ridl.) Moss. We used two rooted (Myriophyllum spicatum L., Potamogeton perfoliatus L.) and two non-rooted native species (Ceratophyllum demersum L., Utricularia vulgaris L.) representing two distinct functional groups considering their nutrient acquisition strategy which follows from their growth form, with, respectively, the sediment and water column as their main nutrient source. We found that the presence of native vegetation overall decreased the establishment success of an alien aquatic plant species. The strength of this observed biotic resistance increased with increasing species richness of the native community. Mainly due to a selection effect, the native biomass of mixed communities overyielded, and this further lowered the establishment success of the invader in our experiment. The strongest biotic resistance was caused by the two native plant species that were of the same functional group, i.e., functionally most similar to the invader. These results support the prediction of Elton’s biotic resistance hypothesis in aquatic ecosystems and indicate that both species richness and functional group identity can play an important role in decreasing establishment success of alien plant species.

show abstract

Mass development of monospecific submerged macrophyte vegetation after the restoration of shallow lakes: Roles of light, sediment nutrient levels, and propagule density

Abstract: Mass development of monospecific submerged macrophyte vegetation after the restoration of shallow lakes: roles of light, sediment nutrient levels, and propagule density.Aquatic Botany

Cited by 54 publications

References 61 publications

Response of Submerged Macrophyte Communities to External and Internal Restoration Measures in North Temperate Shallow Lakes

Response of Submerged Macrophyte Communities to External and Internal Restoration Measures in North Temperate Shallow Lakes

Macrophyte assessment in European lakes: Diverse approaches but convergent views of ‘good’ ecological status

Mechanisms of Invasion Resistance of Aquatic Plant Communities

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About