The effect of growth medium on duckweed growth

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The effect of growth medium on duckweed growth

Duckweed (Lemna minor) is a common plant that floats in water and is common to stagnant water such as ponds. According to Texas A&M University Duckweed is the smallest flowering plant on earth. It is thought duckweed helps to reduce pollution levels. Duckweed is quick growing new leaves. The plant undergoes asexual reproduction by splitting into two (or more) new plants.

Characteristics

Duckweed plants consist of between two or three leaves known as fronds; these fronds are commonly between 1/6th and 1/8th of an inch in length.

Habitat

Duckweeds grow in large colonies on the surface of calm water, and more than one species can grow in the same body of water.

Warning

Duckweed grows rapidly and can aggressively invade pods and bodies of water.  It can disrupt marine ecosystems. If the Duckweed grows rapidly and covers the body of water it can prevent light from reaching plants that live on the bottom of the pond. This can then cause fish that feed on the plants to die. It can also reduce the levels of oxygen in the pond water.

Benefits

Duckweed plants do provide a habitat for micro invertebrates. Duckweed plants grow best in nitrogen rich environments. This is especially high in polluted ponds. This means the plant is especially good in cleaning polluted ponds.


Factors that affect the growth of plants

The major difference between distilled water and that obtained from the tap; is that distillation removes the minerals that are found in tap water. Distilled water does not have the fluoride, chloride or trace amounts of sodium found in tap water.

Soil contains a complex mixture array of minerals; it is this in combination with water, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen that forms the soil solution. Plants are thought to use sixteen elements in order to grow successfully. Of the sixteen, twelve are found primarily in the soil.

Plants are presently recognized to utilize sixteen elements in order to sustain growth. Of these sixteen elements twelve are minerals found primarily in the soil. This is the part of this particular chapter where we could easily go into a litany of items on the periodic table of elements, but we'll stick to the basics.

Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen are said to be non mineral. Carbon forms the organic skeleton of the plant. This is taken up from the atmosphere with the absorption of carbon dioxide. This is fixed to make sugars during photosynthesis.

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Oxygen is needed for respiration to take place in the plant. In this process energy is created by the breakdown of the sugars that are made during photosynthesis. Oxygen combines with hydrogen to form water. Water makes up a large proportion of the mass of any plant. Water is used to transport minerals and sugars produced during photosynthesis.

Magnesium – is essential for many of the functions inside of the plant. It is an essential element of the chlorophyll molecule. It is an enzyme activator and constituent of many of the enzymes in a plant. Magnesium deficiency symptoms in ...

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