Summary
A study was carried out on several production characteristics ofPhragmites australis stands in Lake Vechten, the Netherlands. The aim was to quantify the role of this plant species in the lake's primary production and nutrient cycles (C, N and P).
Maximum biomass values of 1247 and 286 g org.wt.m−2 were measured in, respectively, shoots and underground organs in August. The shoot: root ratio was always>1. Plant litter accumulated particularly in spring and autumn. The relative growth rates of early shoots differed from those determined for the whole vegetation, indicating shoots of different ages in the latter. This was confirmed by counting the number of plants.
The chemical composition of the plants changed with season. A carbon peak as high as 50.94% org.wt. was found in spring, which coincided with a nitrogen peak of 2.88% org. wt. At the end of the season N dissapeared faster from the shoots than C, whereas P declined from spring onwards.
The production ofPhragmites contributed in 1979 for 5.8% to the lake's total primary production expressed in C, whereas the share of the total macrophytic unit amounted to 8.7%.
The potential role ofPhragmites in the lake's nutrient cycles was largely due to nutrient leakage and decomposition.
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Best, E.P.H., Zippin, M. & Dassen, J.H.A. Growth and production ofPhragmites australis in Lake Vechten (the Netherlands). Hydrobiological Bulletin 15, 165–173 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02255175
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02255175