Effect of different water temperatures on growth of aquatic plants Salvinia natans and Ceratophyllum demersum

Abstract

Water temperature affects plants in many ways. A change of temperature alters metabolic activity and even affects aquatic ecosystems. From house plants to aquatic plants, water temperature plays a part in growth and development. Water temperature affects the metabolic activity of plants, slowing activity under cool conditions[1]. All plant growth and development is influenced by temperature and plants vary regarding the temperature range in which they can grow[2,3]. It is well known that diurnal temperature fluctuations in water can be much less than on dry land but this is dependent on the volume of water[3]. The use of aquatic plants for remediation of aquatic ecosystems has received increasing attention. Many investigations have been conducted to proved the effectiveness of aquatic plants in remediation such as to remove heavy metal[4], arsenic[5], copper, nickle and zinc[6]. To achieve more effective function in managing such polluted aquatic ecosystem, choosing the most suitable aquatic plant species is significantly important. Several aquatic plant characters are used to test their effectiveness for remediation including oxygen production and consumption, growth or photosynthesis rate and salinity tolerance. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of temperature on two aquatic plants in order to determine the effectiveness of using this plant species for water managements, such as in producing oxygen, and pollution removal in aquatic ecosystem which has led to be used in aquacultures management.