Phytoremediation of urban wastewater by model wetlands with ornamental hydrophytes

Phytoremediation offers a cost-effective, non-intrusive, and safe alternative to conventional cleanup techniques. In this study, we used ornamental hydrophytes plants as constructed wetlands to treat urban or rural domestic wastewater. Most ornamental hydrophytes adapted to the wastewater well, and were fairly efficient in scavenging BOD5 （biological oxygen demand 5 d）, COD （chemical oxygen demand）, TN （total nitrogen）, TP （total phosphorus） and heavy metals （Cr, Pb, Cd） in the wastewater. However, the efficiency varied a lot for various species to different contaminants, Iris pseudacorus L. and Acorus gramineus Soland were good choices for treatment of composite-polluted urban wastewater. Some variation in the change of membrane peroxidation and endogenous protective system in responses to wastewater was found among six hydrophytes, which have a correlation with the efficiency of wastewater treatment. It may demonstrate that the developed antioxidative systems of L pseudacorus and A. gramineus contributed much to their superiority. On the other hand, interaction of different components in the wastewater might have certain effects on phytoremediation.

Pollen Production in Relation to Ecological Class of Some Hydrophytes and Marsh Plants

The knowledge of quantitative production and method of dispersal give some idea about the frequency of presence of particular plant pollen grains in the atmosphere or hydrosphere. Pollen production in terms of number per anther along with the particular anther number per flower, anther length, pollen grain size, mode of anther dehiscence was determined for 51 angiospermous hydrophytes and marsh species occurring in Tripura, India. Pollen production is species specific. The level of pollen production directly related to the anther size and anther number per flower. However, no such correlation could be drawn between pollen production and size of pollen grains. Most of the hydrophytic taxa of the present investigation are anemophilous. The anemophilous taxa are characterized by high pollen production. However no correlation could be drawn from the present study between the high pollen production and mode of anther dehiscence as in all the studied taxa they show only one kind of anther dehiscence.

Nitrate Removal Efficiency with Hydrophytes of Los Reyes Aztecas Lake Water, México

The study was carried out to evaluate six different hydrophytes which were tested associated by twos: 1) Lemna gibba and Ceratophyllum demersum, 2) Berula erecta and Lemna gibba, 3) Polygonum punctatum and Hydrocotyle ranunculoides, and 4) Polygonum punctatum and Azolla filiculoides, for the purpose of removing nitrate from the water of Reyes Aztecas Lake, which is located southeast of Mexico City in Tláhuac District, Mexico D.F. The average of removal efficiency was obtained in relation to the different hydrophytes associations based on five sampling stations. The statistical analysis revealed that there were no significant differences among hydrophytes, all show remarkable ability to remove nitrate in water.

The Participation of Wall Monolignols in Leaf Tolerance to Nature Flooding of Hydrophytes

The comparative analysis of the monolignols localization in epidermis, photosynthesizing parenchyma and vessels walls of Myriophyllum spicatum, Potamogeton pectinatus and P. perfoliatus submerged leaves carried out on the basis of cytochemical method and laser confocal microscopy. The images of quantitative distribution of syringyl and guaiacyl in the cell walls were obtained at cellular level depending on the type of leaf tissues and plant species. The increase of relative content of monolignols was established in walls of vessels and in the corners of parenchyma cells. Cytochemical analysis indicates that ratio of syringyl/guaiacyl in leaf tissues changes depending on species. The role of of syringyl and guaiacyl monolignols in the cellular mechanisms of adaptation to nature flooding is discussed.

Effect of Soil Transplantation to Abandoned Paddy Field on the Conservation of Threatened Hydrophyte Species

Threatened or near threatened hydrophytes, Ottelia alismoides, Monochoria korsakowii, Najas graminea, Najas minor and Chara braunii, appeared in an inundated paddy field after the 2011 Tohoku-oki Tsunami in Japan. Due to the reconstruction of roads and agricultural restoration efforts implemented following the disaster, the top soil of the paddy field was transplanted to another abandoned paddy field in 2014 to avoid extirpation of the aforementioned species. We then conducted vegetation surveys in July and September from 2014 to 2016. Monochoria korsakowii appeared at the transplantation site from 2014 to 2016, forming a large community in 2016. The volume of this species was significantly higher than that in July 2014 and 2015. Although Ottelia alismoides and Chara braunii appeared in 2014, they were not observed in 2015. Najas graminea and Najas minor were not observed during the vegetation survey, and Salvinia natans and Alisma plantago-aquatica newly appeared at the transplantation site. Our findings suggest that transplantation of surface soil and the seed bank therein to an abandoned paddy field is well suited for the conservation of hygrophytes such as Monochoria korsakowii, Ottelia alismoides and Chara braunii. Preventing disturbances that suppress the growth of herbaceous perennial plants is considered necessary for maintaining the habitats of threatened plant species.

Phytoremediation of levonorgestrel in aquatic environment by hydrophytes

Adsorption and degradation of levonorgestrel （LNG） by two hydrophytes, Cyperus alternfolius （CA） and Eichhornia crassipes （EC）, were investigated under light-shielding conditions in the water column. Variations of LNG concentrations in water, plant root epidermis, root, stem and leaf of the plants were analyzed. The results indicated that the removal efficiency of LNG by hydrophytes over the period of 50 days was significantly greater than the blank control （p 〈 0.05）, with the removal rates of 79.80%± 3.10% and 78.86% ± 2.55% for CA and EC, respectively. Compared with bio-adsorption, bio-conversion of LNG was found to be the dominant elimination pathway, evidenced by relatively high conversion rates （77.31% ±2.68% for CA and 77.82% ± 2.95% for EC）, while the adsorption rates were lower （1.77% ± 0.90% for CA and 1.05% ± 0.40% for EC）. The bio-adsorption and conversion of LNG showed no significant differences between the two hydrophytes. Additionally, the mineralization on root epidermis played an important role in the reduction of LNG in water.

Impacts of invasive Iris pseudacorus L.(yellow flag) establishing in an abandoned urban pond on native semi-wetland vegetation

Iris pseudacorus L., intentionally introduced in Japan as an ornamental plant and to improve aquatic environments, has been declared a noxious species in the Invasive Alien Species Act of Japan due to the suspected high ecological risks to the local species and ecosystems. Although prompt responses to I. pseudacorus have been sought to conserve local biodiversity, knowledge about its invasiveness is lacking. Here, we report the relationship between the establishment of I. pseudacorus and floristic changes in semi-wetland vegetation of an abandoned urban pond(Aoike), Nara City, Nara Prepecture, Japan. In total, 64 vascular plants were recorded in the pond, of which 50 were native species, seven were naturalized non-native, and seven were invasive species. On the other hand, most of these vascular plants(42 species) were grassland species and only several aquatic plants(10 species) were found in this study pond. The number of vascular plant species decreased significantly at quadrats with a coverage of I. pseudacorus above 50%. In addition, tendencies of lower number of native species and concomitant higher number of invasive species were found with increasing coverage of I. pseudacorus. From these results, we suggest that it is important to preferentially manage sites where the coverage of I. pseudacorus is above 50%, in order to preserve the local biodiversity. Additionally, as recommended in the literature, it is essential that the cut reproductive organs are kept submerged under deep water for an effective control of I. pseudacorus.

Response of Exotic Invasive Weed Alternanthera philoxeroides to Environmental Factors and Its Competition with Rice

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to determine the influence of the environmental factors such as low-temperature, drought stress, salt-alkali and flooding on the survival rate, propagation rate, fresh biomass and viability of the Altemanthera philoxeroides and its competitive ability against rice by using bioassay method. A high viability of 84% was found when the stems were treated at 4℃ and then grew under normal conditions, while no viable plant was noted when the stems were treated at -20℃ and grew under normal conditions. Compared to the fresh stem with water content of 93.5%, the survival rate, number of propagated stems and fresh biomass of A. philoxeroides derived from the stems with water content of 30.2% were reduced by 45%, 33% and 74% respectively. The treatments of 0.1% salt-alkaline solution led to loss of viability of A, philoxeroides. The stems of A. philoxeroides could grow in wet soil with different depths of water-layer. The A. philoxeroides at density of 23-180 plants/m^2 reduced the rice grain yield by 43-50% at the rice plant density of 100 plants/m^2.