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Classifying plant species indicators of eutrophication in Korean lakes

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Abstract

The objectives of this study were to establish a method of classifying plants as indicator species of eutrophication, as a key metric for assessing lake ecosystem health, and to select sensitive and tolerant plant species among aquatic macrophytes and hygrophytes. Thus, 38 natural and artificial lakes throughout Korea were investigated. The distribution and abundance of plant species were investigated. As a measure of eutrophication, the modified trophic state index (TSIKO), derived from total phosphorus and chlorophyll a, was used. Using TSIKO criteria and the response curves of plants to TSIKO, a selection method of classifying sensitive and tolerant species was developed. Overall, 15 sensitive and 11 tolerant species among 117 macrophytes and hygrophytes were classified. The applicability of the selected indicator species was verified by a comparison with the results of a multimetric analysis using eight variables. The results suggest that the selected indicator species is expected to be useful as a metric for assessing lake ecosystem health.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Center for Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration (CAER) of Eco-STAR project (EW42-08-10) from the Ministry of Environment (MOE, Republic of Korea). The authors are grateful to Yonghak Lee, Changwan Woo, Kiyong Hwang, Inyong Hwang, and Jihye Heo for their field assistance. Also, special thanks to guest editors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Northern Asian Plant Institute, 630 Gaepo-ro, Seoul, 135-943, Republic of Korea

    Anna Seo

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 200-701, Republic of Korea

    Kyungeun Lee & Yeonsook Choung

  3. Department of Environmental Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 200-701, Republic of Korea

    Bomchul Kim

Authors
  1. Anna Seo
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  2. Kyungeun Lee
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  3. Bomchul Kim
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  4. Yeonsook Choung
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Correspondence to Yeonsook Choung.

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Anna Seo and Kyungeun Lee are the co-first authors.

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Seo, A., Lee, K., Kim, B. et al. Classifying plant species indicators of eutrophication in Korean lakes. Paddy Water Environ 12 (Suppl 1), 29–40 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-014-0437-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-014-0437-z

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