Abstract
An investigation of the effects of repeated winter harvest and removal of dry reed culms on water and sediment chemistry was made in a shallow lake dominated by closed, monospecific reed stands. The oxygen concentration and redox potential in the water, as well as temperature, showed regular diurnal fluctuations inside the reed stands. Ammonium and nitrate + nitrite did not exhibit diurnal fluctuations and differences between a harvested and an unharvested reed area were small. Molybdate reactive phosphorus (MRP) concentration was higher in the unharvested area.
Because the winter harvest caused an almost doubling of shoot production compared to the unharvested area, net addition of reed litter (leaves, stubble and culms) to the sediment of the harvested area was similar to that of the unharvested area. It is concluded that removal of reed culms in winter has the largest effect on microclimate in spring, and that the rate of mineralization and reducing intensity in the substrate are not immediately affected. Significantly higher summer standing crop of reed after harvest may have caused lower phosphate concentration in the water column and sediment interstitial water.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andersen, F. Ø., 1981. Oxygen and nitrate respiration in a reed swamp sediment from an eutrophic lake. Holarct. Ekol. 4: 66–72.
Bengtsson, T., B. Ekstam & J. Landin, 1983. Vasskördens effekter på vattenmiljön och dess växt och djurliv i Tåkern. ((The effects of reed harvest on water, plants and animals in Lake Tåkern) Mimeographed Rep., in Swedish). Dep. Biol., Univ. Linköping, 128 pp.
Boström, B. & K. Pettersson, 1982. Different patterns of phosphorus release from lake sediments in laboratory experiments. Hydrobiologia 92: 415–429.
Granéli, W., 1978. Sediment oxygen uptake in south Swedish lakes. Oikos 30: 7–16.
Granéli, W., in press. Reed, Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steudel, as an energy source in Sweden. Biomass.
Lorenzen, C. J., 1967. Determination of chlorophyll and phaeopigments: Spectrophotometric equations. Limnol. Oceanogr. 12: 343–346.
Mook, J. H. & J. van der Toorn, 1982. The influence of environmental factors and management on stands of Phragmites australis, 2. Effects on yield and its relationships with shoot density. J. appl. Ecol. 19: 501–517.
Reddy, K. R., 1981. Diel variations of certain physicochemical parameters of water in selected aquatic systems. Hydrobiologia 85: 201–207.
Ripl, W., 1978. Oxidation of lake sediments with nitrate — a restoration method for former recipients. Diss. Inst. Limnol., Lund., Sweden, 150 pp.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hansson, LA., Granéli, W. Effects of winter harvest on water and sediment chemistry in a stand of reed (Phragmites australis). Hydrobiologia 112, 131–136 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00006917
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00006917