Photosynthetica, 2012 (vol. 50), issue 3

Photosynthetica 2012, 50(3):437-446 | DOI: 10.1007/s11099-012-0046-2

Photosynthetic response of Vallisneria natans (Lour.) Hara (Hydrocharitaceae) to increasing nutrient loadings

X. L. Cai1,2, G. Gao1,*, X. M. Tang1, J. Y. Dai1,2, D. Chen1,2
1 State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
2 Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

To explore the effects of water column nutrient loading on photosynthesis of the submerged macrophyte Vallisneria natans (Lour.) Hara during the growth season (June to October), we determined the diurnal and seasonal variation in rapid light curves of plants cultivated under 4 different nutrient concentrations (N-P [mg L-1]: (1) 0.5, 0.05; (2) 1.0, 0.1; (3) 5.0, 0.5; (4) 10.0, 1.0). Nutrient concentration significantly affected the magnitude of the rapid light curves of V. natans, but not the direction of their diurnal variations. At low nutrient conditions (N-P 1 [mg L-1]: 0.5, 0.05), the maximum relative electron transport rate (rETRmax) and minimum saturating irradiance (Ek) derived from rapid light curves were significantly lower than those of other treatments, and their seasonal variations were suppressed. These results indicated that photosynthesis of V. natans was inhibited by the lack of nutrients in water column. At high nutrient conditions (N-P 4, [mg L-1]: 10.0, 1.0), there was an increase in photosynthetic rate in the light-limited region of rapid light curve (α), and a decrease in rETRmax and Ek, relative to moderate nutrient conditions (N-P 2, [mg L-1]: 1.0, 0.1). In addition, at high nutrient concentrations, the rapid light curves of V. natans reached a plateau, and then markedly declined compared with those at the lower nutrient levels, especially in July and August. These results suggested that V. natans were adapted to low-light environments in the high-nutrient loading treatment.

Keywords: diurnal variation; nutrient loading; rapid light curves; shading effect; Vallisneria natans

Received: March 27, 2012; Accepted: June 5, 2012; Published: September 1, 2012Show citation

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Cai, X.L., Gao, G., Tang, X.M., Dai, J.Y., & Chen, D. (2012). Photosynthetic response of Vallisneria natans (Lour.) Hara (Hydrocharitaceae) to increasing nutrient loadings. Photosynthetica, 50(3), 437-446. doi: 10.1007/s11099-012-0046-2.
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