Integrated biomarker responses of the submerged macrophyte Vallisneria spiralis via hydrological processes from Lake Poyang, China

Vallisneria spirals (V. spiralis) was used to reveal how the light intensity at the top of the plant, plant morphology, and antioxidant enzyme activity respond to different hydrologic conditions from Lake Poyang, China. By designing a laboratory experiment simulating historical water levels of low, normal, and high wetland plant submersion, this study aimed to elucidate the effects of different levels of flooding on growth and antioxidant enzyme activity for V. spiralis. The results showed that the plant crown light intensity of the treated group and control group first decreased and then increased along with the seasonal variation of the water level. The maximum and minimum values of the plant crown light intensity were observed in April and July, respectively. Similar to the control group, V. spiralis from the normal and low water level groups was measured and had higher plant height growth in the flooding period from May to June, and the entire plant biomass also showed a steady grow...