Aquatic Plant Management
http://ifile.it/4fxayop
by Carole A Lembi, Professor
Although this guide is primarily devoted to managing or reducing the amount of aquatic veg e ta tion present in a body of water, the reader should be aware that aquatic plants have many important functions in aquatic systems. Just as on land, plants in water are natural and essential components of the environment, and without them, life as we know it could not exist. All plants, whether on land or in the water, utilize sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to photosynthesize. The process of pho to syn the sis results in the production of new plant tissue (biomass) and oxygen. In water, new plant biomass takes the form of either microscopic plants or larger plants called macrophytes. Why are these plants so important to the aquatic environment?
About the Author:
Carole A Lembi, Professor
Department: Botany and Plant Pathology Area of Expertise: Aquatic Biology - aquatic weed science and phycology with emphasis on ecology, physiology, and management of nuisance algae.
Carole Lembi’s laboratory has studied a number of issues integral to aquatic plant management, particularly those that deal with finding 1) more ecologically-friendly alternatives to herbicides/algicides and 2) solutions for difficult-to-control algal species. Alternatives studied included plant growth regulators, barley straw, a bacterial biocontrol agent, and the herbivorous fish, the grass carp. Their studies on Pithophora (an algicide-tolerant alga that infests waters throughout the U.S.) and Nostoc (a cyanobacterium that infests California rice fields) form the basis for understanding the ecology of difficult-to-control mat-forming species and the potential for inserting control mechanisms into appropriate stages of the life cycle.
http://ifile.it/4fxayop
by Carole A Lembi, Professor
- Publisher: Department: Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University
- Number Of Pages: 21
- Publication Date: 2003-05-01
Although this guide is primarily devoted to managing or reducing the amount of aquatic veg e ta tion present in a body of water, the reader should be aware that aquatic plants have many important functions in aquatic systems. Just as on land, plants in water are natural and essential components of the environment, and without them, life as we know it could not exist. All plants, whether on land or in the water, utilize sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to photosynthesize. The process of pho to syn the sis results in the production of new plant tissue (biomass) and oxygen. In water, new plant biomass takes the form of either microscopic plants or larger plants called macrophytes. Why are these plants so important to the aquatic environment?
About the Author:
Carole A Lembi, Professor
Department: Botany and Plant Pathology Area of Expertise: Aquatic Biology - aquatic weed science and phycology with emphasis on ecology, physiology, and management of nuisance algae.
Carole Lembi’s laboratory has studied a number of issues integral to aquatic plant management, particularly those that deal with finding 1) more ecologically-friendly alternatives to herbicides/algicides and 2) solutions for difficult-to-control algal species. Alternatives studied included plant growth regulators, barley straw, a bacterial biocontrol agent, and the herbivorous fish, the grass carp. Their studies on Pithophora (an algicide-tolerant alga that infests waters throughout the U.S.) and Nostoc (a cyanobacterium that infests California rice fields) form the basis for understanding the ecology of difficult-to-control mat-forming species and the potential for inserting control mechanisms into appropriate stages of the life cycle.
