Water Flow and Clay Retention in Submerged Macrophyte Beds

Abstract

The effect of aboveground plant structure on near-bottom water flow and surficial sediment composition was evaluated in Lake Memphremagog (Quebec–Vermont) at 34 nearshore sites within three mixed-species macrophyte beds. Plant surface area accounted for 70% of the variance in flow reduction when the effect of changing water depth was removed. Relationships between plant surface area and surficial sediment clay content were evident within each of the three multispecies beds. The equations predicting within-bed clay concentrations were not significantly different from a general among-bed model (r 2 = 0.74) developed at 25 sites of high biomass from other nearshore locations in Lake Memphremagog. The study provides quantitative evidence for the importance of macrophytes as sites of sedimentation of fine particles and their associated nutrients and contaminants.