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The main objectives of this work were to investigate the range of habitat conditions (in terms of water chemistry and hydromorphological parameters) at sites colonized by <italic>Elodea canadensis</italic> and to analyze the species composition of communities with this plant species. We analyzed physicochemical, hydromorphological and biological data from 1135 sites located in Polish rivers to identify environmental factors that determine the occurrence of <italic>Elodea canadensis</italic>. Canadian waterweed was present at 18.1% of the analyzed river sites, located mainly in the lowlands (26.2% of all lowland sites).The results show that <italic>Elodea canadensis</italic> prefers moderately mineralized water (545 ± 329 μS cm−1), rich in calcium and magnesium carbonates (174 ± 63 mg CaCO3 l−1, 84.1 ± 31.4 mg Ca2+ l−1 and 11.1 ± 6.4 mg Mg2+ l−1), with moderate concentrations of chlorides and sulfates (38.9 ± 59.1 mg Cl- l−1 and 62.3 ± 50.9 mg SO42− l−1) and in terms of nutrients, it prefers water from moderately rich to mesotrophic and eutrophic. This plant has high light requirements and grows mainly in unshaded sections of shallow rivers. The studied species avoids sections of rivers strongly transformed and those with reinforced banks and bottoms. Canadian waterweed occurs mostly in the company of vascular macrophytes associated with slow-flowing rivers with sandy bottom material, indicating mesotrophic and eutrophic water.
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The main objectives of this work were to investigate the range of habitat conditions (in terms of water chemistry and hydromorphological parameters) at sites colonized by Elodea canadensis and to analyze the species composition of communities with this plant species. We analyzed physicochemical, hydromorphological and biological data from 1135 sites located in Polish rivers to identify environmental factors that determine the occurrence of Elodea canadensis. Canadian waterweed was present at 18.1% of the analyzed river sites, located mainly in the lowlands (26.2% of all lowland sites).The results show that Elodea canadensis prefers moderately mineralized water (545 ± 329 μS cm−1), rich in calcium and magnesium carbonates (174 ± 63 mg CaCO3 l−1, 84.1 ± 31.4 mg Ca2+ l−1 and 11.1 ± 6.4 mg Mg2+ l−1), with moderate concentrations of chlorides and sulfates (38.9 ± 59.1 mg Cl- l−1 and 62.3 ± 50.9 mg SO42− l−1) and in terms of nutrients, it prefers water from moderately rich to mesotrophic and eutrophic. This plant has high light requirements and grows mainly in unshaded sections of shallow rivers. The studied species avoids sections of rivers strongly transformed and those with reinforced banks and bottoms. Canadian waterweed occurs mostly in the company of vascular macrophytes associated with slow-flowing rivers with sandy bottom material, indicating mesotrophic and eutrophic water.

Habitat requirements of <italic>Elodea canadensis</italic> Michx. in Polish rivers

Department of Ecology, Biogeochemistry and Environmental Protection

Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection

Poznań University of Life Sciences in Poznań

Oceanological and Hydrobiological Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Habitat requirements of  Michx. in Polish rivers

The main objectives of this work were to investigate the range of habitat conditions (in terms of water chemistry and hydromorphological parameters) at sites...

Habitat requirements of Elodea canadensis Michx. in Polish rivers

Article Category: Original research paper

Published Online: Dec 12, 2017

Page range: 363 - 378

Received: Mar 09, 2017

Accepted: Jun 09, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ohs-2017-0037

© 2017 Faculty of Oceanography and Geography, University of Gdańsk, Poland. All rights reserved

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.