Summary
The oxygen consumption of four aquatic plants has been determined at various concentrations of dissolved oxygen and at three different temperatures.
Oxygen consumption rates (mg oxygen/g dry weight per hr) at 20°C in air-saturated water were Berula erecta, 1.25; Callitriche obtusangula, 2.8; Hippuris vulgaris, 1.96; and Ranunculus pseudofluitans, 1.90.
Oxygen consumption rates increased with increase in dissolved-oxygen concentration within the experimental limits of 1.2–17 p.p.m. dissolved oxygen. The relation of oxygen consumption to this range of oxygen concentrations can be described by the empirical equation R = aC b. Increase of temperature has been shown to increase the rates of oxygen consumption. Q10 values ranging from 1.32 to 3.48 have been obtained.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Briggs, R. & Knowles, G., - 1961 - Developments in the use of the wide-bore dropping-mercury electrode for determination of dissolved oxygen, and oxygen in gases; Analyst 86: 603–608.
Briggs, R. & Mason W. H., - 1962 - A portable dissolved-oxygen indicator; Lab. Pract. 11: 36–44.
Crank, J., - The mathematics of diffusion, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1957.
Edwards, R. W. & Owens, M., - 1960 - The effects of plants on river conditions. I. Summer crops and estimates of net productivity of macrophytes in a chalk stream; J. Ecol. 48: 151–60.
Edwards, R. W. & Owens, M., - 1962 - The effects of plants on river conditions. IV. The oxygen balance of a chalk stream; J. Ecol. 50: 207–220.
Fisher, R. A., - Statistical Methods for Research Workers, Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 1954.
Gessner, F. Hydrobotanik II, VEB Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin, 1959.
Gessner, F. & Pannier, F., - 1958(a) - Der Sauerstoffverbrauch der Wasserpflanzen bei verschiedenen Sauerstoffspannungen; Hydrobiologia, 10: 323–351.
Gessner, F. & Pannier F., - 1958(b) - Influence of oxygen tension on respiration of phytoplankton; Limnol. & Oceanogr. 3: 478–480.
James, W. O., - Plant respiration. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1953.
James, W. O. & Beevers, H., - 1950 - The respiration of Arum spadix. A rapid respiration, resistant to cyanide; New Phytol. 57: 353–374.
Knowles, G., Edwards, R. W. & Briggs, R., - 1962 - Polarographic measurement of the rate of respiration of natural sediments; Limnol. & Oceanogr. 7 481–484.
Owens, M. & Edwards, R. W., - 1962- The effects of plants on river conditions. II. Further crop studies and estimates of net productivity of macrophytes in a chalk stream; J. Ecol. 49: 119–126.
Owens, M. & Edwards, R. W., - 1962- The effects of plants on river conditions. III. Crop studies and estimates of net productivity of macrophytes in four streams in southern England; J. Ecol. 50: 157–162.
Pannier, F., - 1957–58 - El consumo de oxigeno de plantas acuaticas en relación a distintas concentraciones de oxigeno; Acta Cientif. Venez. 8 and 9: 148–161; 2–13.
Pannier, F., - 1960 - Physiological responses of Podostemaceae in their natural habitat; Int. Rev. ges. Hydrobiol. 45: 347–354.
Platenius, H., - 1942 - Effect of temperature on the respiration rate and the respiratory quotient of some vegetables; Plant Physiol. 17: 179–197.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Owens, M., Maris, P.J. Some factors affecting the respiration of some aquatic plants. Hydrobiologia 23, 533–543 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00179501
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00179501