Original paper
Perspectives of using the water hyacinth (Eichhornia heterosperma) for self-purification in a Colombian water reservoir
Eckert, Stephan; Grajales, Heazel; Palacio, Jaime B.; Jimenez Segura, Luz F.; Pohlon, Elisabeth
Fundamental and Applied Limnology Volume 193 Nr. 4 (2020), p. 347 - 357
54 references
published: Jun 29, 2020
published online: May 7, 2020
manuscript accepted: Apr 9, 2020
final revised version received: Mar 24, 2020
manuscript revision requested: Jul 29, 2020
manuscript received: Feb 14, 2019
ArtNo. ESP141019304004, Price: 29.00 €
Abstract
Eutrophication and heavy metal contamination of freshwater reservoirs cause serious problems worldwide. With increasing nutrient levels in lakes and reservoirs, invasive macrophytes like the perennial water hyacinth Eichhornia spp. can intensify the degradation process, but the plants can also be supporting because of their high capacity for heavy metal and nutrient accumulation. In this study, we assessed the potential of E. heterosperma for nutrient removal. Therefore, we measured nutrient and heavy metal concentrations in the water and the plant tissue of E. heterosperma plants harvested in a hypereutrophic reservoir (Porce II, Antioquia, Colombia). We found mean nitrogen concentrations between 21–45 g and phosphorus between 2.1–3.0 g kg–1 dry weight in the different plant parts (leaves, stems, roots). Regarding metals, we measured 3.1–37 mg chrome, 62 mg–7.4 g aluminium, 22–70 mg zinc, 12–95 mg copper, and 0.4–1.3 g manganese per kg of dry weight. This exceptional high ability for nutrient and heavy metal uptake makes Eichhornia heterosperma an appropriate candidate for bioremediation in reservoirs. Therefore, we assessed the potential of the plants as fertilizer for forests and agriculture regarding the heavy metal accumulations. We found that the harvest of 1.0 km² of plant cover in Porce II would result in a removal of 4.3 % phosphorus and 4.0 % nitrogen of the nutrients in the water column. This indicates that for hypereutrophic lakes with an annual input of about 43443 t N and 2490 t P, the remediation capacity of this plant is limited.
Keywords
reservoir • Eichhornia heterosperma • eutrophication • heavy metal • bioremediation