Arthur J. Ehlmann

Impact of encrusting carbonates on manganese, zinc and copper concentrations of two vascular hydrophytes from Texas

In alkaline calcareous waters, hydrophytes become encrusted with carbonate precipitates of a complex nature which alter bulk chemical analyses of the plants. The manganese, zinc and copper concentrations, and the ash content of two aquatic plants, Egeria densa and Potamogeton nodusus, differed considerably depending on the cleaning procedure used and, therefore, the amount of marl encrustation included in the analyses. Tapwater washed plants, retaining the marl, consistently had ash contents two to three times higher than acid-cleaned plants and exhibited higher trace metal concentrations, especially manganese.