Environmental pH influences growth and tissue chemistry of the submersed macrophyte Vallisneria americana

Wild celery (Vallisneria americana, Hydrocharitaceae) is a common submersed freshwater macrophyte rarely reported from lakes with pH below 6. Plants grown in a greenhouse on a uniform sediment within pH-controlled tanks all survived 60 days at pH 5 but showed reduced dry matter accumulation (by 76%), leaf area (by 79%), and rosette and winter bud production (by 44 and 63%, respectively) compared with plants grown at pH 7.5. The sensitivity of this plant to only moderate acidity did not differ for plants in water acidified to pH 5 by a combination of H2SO4 and HNO3 or by HCl, indicating that the former acids exerted no fertilizing effects to counter the detrimental influence of acidification. Tissue nitrogen and phosphorus levels were well above the critical concentrations previously reported for this species. Tissue calcium and manganese concentrations showed no clear relationship to treatment pH. Both aluminum and iron levels in tissues were twofold to threefold higher for the smaller plants grown at pH 5 (means of 1970 and 3090 μg/g, respectively), suggesting that metal toxicity may have caused growth reduction at low pH.