Increased nitrogen and phosphorus pollution causes eutrophication in water bodies. Using aquatic plants to remove nutrients from water is an attractive phytoremediation. It is a cost-effective, environment-friendly, and efficient way that reduces water body eutrophication by the plant. It is important to choose suitable macrophytes to remove excess N and P under different nutrient conditions. In this study, six macrophyte species (Polygonum orientale, Juncus effuses, Iris pseudocorus, Phragmites australis, Iris sanguinea, Typha orientalis) were tested. Simulation experiment was conducted under five N and P levels. The removal rate, relative growth rate, and the dynamic nutrition concentration of cultivated solution were investigated. Of all the treatment, a 23-95% reduction in N removal and a 29-92% reduction in P removal were recorded. The results showed I. sanguinea is a promising species to treat various eutrophic waters and the other five species can be used specifically to treat certain types of water. The data provided a theoretical guidance to plant species selection for phytoremediation of polluted water bodies for the purpose of water quality improvement around the different reservoir in northern China.
Keywords: Eutrophication; N and P removal; macrophytes; plant selection.