Influence of submerged macrophytes on sediment composition and near‐bed flow in lowland streams

Abstract

1. Submerged macrophytes have important physical and structural effects on lowland streams. This study investigated the ability of submerged macrophytes to modify the near‐bed flow and to retain mineral and organic particles in patches of four common macrophytes in shallow Danish streams during mid‐summer. 2. In dense patches of Callitriche cophocarpa and Elodea canadensis, where near‐bed velocity was reduced, the sediment surface was markedly raised and enriched with fine particles. In dense patches of Ranunculus peltatus, fine sediments were deposited among rooted shoots in the upstream part of the patches, while erosion and coarse sediments prevailed in the downstream part of the patches because of the strong vortices that formed at the rear and moved up under the trailing canopy. The open canopy of Sparganium emersum, with its streamlined leaves, had little effect on flow and sediment. 3. Patterns of sediment deposition and composition were closely related to the morphology and canopy structure of plant species and the presence of low velocity above the sediment among the rooted shoots. The mineral particles retained probably originate from bed‐load, and the enrichment with finer particles within the patches probably results mainly from size‐selective processes during erosion and transport of particles rather than during deposition. The mixed sediment composition within patches suggests that the flow‐resistant shoots generate an environment conducive to deposition of all transported particles. 4. Fine sediments within macrophyte beds contained high concentrations of organic matter, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. The wide scatter in the relationships between mineral grain size and the content of organic matter and nutrients reflects the spatial and temporal complexity of erosion, transport and sedimentation of mineral and organic particles. 5. Enrichment of sediment within macrophyte beds relative to the surrounding substratum ranged from 780 g organic matter m–2, 30 g N m–2 and 25 g P m–2 for the flow‐resistant dense canopies af Callitriche cophocarpa to 150 g organic matter m–2, 6.6 g N m–2 and 3.4 g P m–2 for the open canopies of Sparganium emersum. Retention of nutrient‐rich particles within the macrophyte beds is probably of limited importance for plant growth in most lowland European streams, because macrophyte growth is rarely nutrient limited.