Abstract
We investigated the most effective cutting interval for underwater nutrient removal through cut off the emergent part of hydrophytes at artificial vegetation island (AVR) which was installed for the purpose of water quality improvement in Lake Paldang. We divided the planting area of Phragmites japonica into three parts according to the cutting intervals. The shoot height and relative growth rate of P. japonica, nutrient contents and biomass of cut off P. japonica were measured at each cutting interval. The amount of nutrients which were removed through cut off at each cutting interval was calculated. P. japonica showed full growth, 80% and 60% of full growth before first cut off at three-months, two-months and one-month cutting interval condition respectively. Three-month cutting interval condition showed the largest biomass of cut off P. japonica and one-month cutting interval condition showed the least. However the cut off P. japonica showed the highest content of nutrients at one-month cutting interval condition and the least at three-month cutting interval condition. The amount of phosphorus and nitrogen removal at two-month cutting off condition is the largest among three cutting interval conditions indicating that cut off the emergent part of P. japonica every two months is the most effective to remove the nutrients from water at AVR in eutrophic lakes.