The adaptability of a wetland plant species Myriophyllum aquaticum to different nitrogen forms and nitrogen removal efficiency in constructed wetlands.

Constructed wetlands (CWs) cultivated with Myriophyllum aquaticum showed great potential for total nitrogen (TN) removal from aquatic ecosystems in previous studies. To evaluate the growth characteristics, photosynthetic pigment content, and antioxidative responses of M. aquaticum, as well as its TN removal efficiency in CWs, M. aquaticum was treated with different levels of ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3-) for 28 days. The results indicated that M. aquaticum had strong nitrogen stress tolerance and was more likely to be suppressed by high levels of NH4+ than NO3-. High levels of NH4+ also led to inhibition of synthesis of photosynthetic pigments and increased peroxidase activity in plant leaves, which was not found in the NO3- treatments. High levels of both NH4+ and NO3- generated obvious oxidative stress through elevation of malondialdehyde content while decreasing superoxide dismutase activity in the early stage. A sustainable increase of TN removal efficiency in most of the CWs indicated that M. aquaticum was a candidate species for treating wastewater with high levels of nitrogen because of its higher tolerance for NH4+ and NO3- stress. However, the increase of TN removal efficiency was hindered in the late stage when treated with high levels of NH4+ of 26 and 36 mmol/L, indicating that its tolerance to NH4+ stress might have a threshold. The results of this study will enrich the studies on detoxification of high ammonium ion content in NH4+-tolerant submerged plants and supply valuable reference data for proper vegetation of M. aquaticum in CWs.