Abstract
A modified artificial substrate method was used to study the effects of agricultural wastewater on benthic algae in ditches in a polder in the western part of the Netherlands. In the ditches chemical gradients were found particularly in orthophosphate and ammonium nitrogen, showing decreasing values with increasing distances (up to 1 km) from the discharging farmhouses. The effects of the wastewater discharges on the benthic algae were studied by measuring several parameters, e.g. biomass, species composition, diversity (number of species mm−2, Margalef index, Shannon-Wiener index) and Sørensen similarity indices. Some benthic algae, e.g. Chaetopeltis orbicularis and Stigeoclonium tenue showed respectively a negative and a positive correlation with the concentration of eutrophicating nutrients. Saprobity indices revealed no great differences between sampling stations in the gradients, indicating the need to modify this method for use in small stagnant bodies of water in the Netherlands. Periphyton productivity proved to be a good indicator of pollution, showing a decrease of biomass growth (in two weeks) with increasing distance from the source of pollution. However, an increase of floating algae and aquatic angiosperms during summer can severely limit the use of artificial substrates due to light interception.
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© 1983 Dr W. Junk Publishers, The Hague
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Klapwijk, S.P., de Boer, T.F., Rijs, M.J. (1983). Effects of agricultural wastewater on benthic algae in ditches in the Netherlands. In: Wetzel, R.G. (eds) Periphyton of Freshwater Ecosystems. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 17. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7293-3_41
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7293-3_41
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