Understanding how nutrient input into coastal wetlands influences aquatic vegetation and the fate of anthropogenic nutrient inputs can help improve water quality management plans. The goals of this study were to (1) compare nutrient concentrations in various storage compartments downstream from two point nutrient sources (a sewage treatment plant outfall and a residential detention basin) in Armand Bayou, a coastal brackish wetland in the Galveston Bay (Texas, USA) watershed, and (2) determine if nutrient storage in those compartments helped improve water quality downstream. Water column nutrients can be assimilated by aquatic vegetation, adsorbed to sediment, or diluted within the system as distance from source input increases. To determine the fate of nutrients to Armand Bayou, I measured nutrient concentrations in the sediment, water column, pore water, and tissue of exotic and restored native plants downstream from a sewage treatment plant and a residential detention basin. To assess nutrient removal potential of a common exotic species, I determined relative growth and nutrient uptake rates of Eichhornia crassipes. Water column total nitrogen, NH₄⁺ and NO₃ˉ concentrations decreased by 95, 96 and 99 percent downstream from the sewage outfall (~2200 m distance). Water column NH₄⁺ and NO₂ˉ concentrations decreased by 93 and 75 percent downstream from the detention basin (~2500 m distance). Exotic species Alternanthera philoxeroides, Pistia stratiotes and E. crassipes showed higher aboveground/emergent tissue nutrient content than restored, native Schoenoplectus californicus for both tributaries. Schoenoplectus californicus had the largest biomass although appeared to be limited in its ability to remove nitrogen from the water column. Nutrient uptake rates by E. crassipes were low and did not change with increasing distance from nutrient source, but high relative growth rates in both tributaries suggest the nuisance potential of this exotic species. Low sediment and pore water nutrient concentrations for both tributaries suggest these compartments are not sinks. All plant species did not respond to changes in water column nutrient concentrations with increasing distance from source input suggesting dilution to be the main factor in water column nutrient decline for both tributaries. This study will provide water quality resource managers guidance on the development of total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for water bodies impaired by high nutrient loading and the implementation of wetland plants efficient in nutrient removal for water quality improvement.

Este estudo foi conduzido em um banhado palustre dominado por Typha domingensis na várzea do rio Maquine e na beira da lagoa dos Quadros, colonizada do Schoenoplectus californicus. Ambos os locais estão situados bacia hidrográfica do rio Maquiné, Planície costeira do Rio Grande do Sul, Sul do Brasil. Nestes locais são coletados rametes destas macrófitas como matéria prima para a confecção de artesanato, tendo importância econômica para as famílias da região. Áreas de banhado e beiras de lagoas são consideradas áreas de proteção permanente, tendo seu uso restrito. A pesquisa foi conduzida com o objetivo de se avaliar a resposta da fauna de macroinvertebrados frente ao corte destas macrófitas aquáticas em um experimento de campo e a regeneração vegetal. Os resultados apontam para uma fraca resposta da fauna de macroinvertebrados frente ao distúrbio de corte. As características do distúrbio de corte realizado como a intensidade, freqüência e escala podem não ter sido suficientes para causar uma mudança perceptível. A rápida regeneração vegetal pode ter possibilitado a fraca resposta dos macroinvertebrados. Além disso, é discutido que variáveis ambientais foram importantes durante a condução dos experimentos. / This study was executed in a wetland, dominated by Typha domingensis at the Maquine river mouth and in a shore colonized by Schoenoplectus californicus at the Quadros’ lake. Both places are located at the Maquiné river basin, on Rio Grande do Sul coastal plain, southern Brazil. Macrophyte branches are used in those places as raw material for craftworks, being an important income source for local people. Shallow lakes and lake shores are legally considered as natural protected areas and by so have restrictions on its use by humans. This research aimed to detect if the benthic macroinvertebrates respond to the macrophytes cut and to the vegetal regenaration in field experiments. Results indicate that benthic macroinvertebrates had a weak response to the cut disturbance event. Cut events characteritics such as intensity, frequency and scale of action may have not being strong sufficient to promote a noticeable change. Fast vegetal regeneration may have also acted promoting the weak benthic macroinvertebrates response to the disturbance event, corresponding to high system resilience.

Este estudo foi conduzido em um banhado palustre dominado por Typha domingensis na várzea do rio Maquine e na beira da lagoa dos Quadros, colonizada do Schoenoplectus californicus. Ambos os locais estão situados bacia hidrográfica do rio Maquiné, Planície costeira do Rio Grande do Sul, Sul do Brasil. Nestes locais são coletados rametes destas macrófitas como matéria prima para a confecção de artesanato, tendo importância econômica para as famílias da região. Áreas de banhado e beiras de lagoas são consideradas áreas de proteção permanente, tendo seu uso restrito. A pesquisa foi conduzida com o objetivo de se avaliar a resposta da fauna de macroinvertebrados frente ao corte destas macrófitas aquáticas em um experimento de campo e a regeneração vegetal. Os resultados apontam para uma fraca resposta da fauna de macroinvertebrados frente ao distúrbio de corte. As características do distúrbio de corte realizado como a intensidade, freqüência e escala podem não ter sido suficientes para causar uma mudança perceptível. A rápida regeneração vegetal pode ter possibilitado a fraca resposta dos macroinvertebrados. Além disso, é discutido que variáveis ambientais foram importantes durante a condução dos experimentos. / This study was executed in a wetland, dominated by Typha domingensis at the Maquine river mouth and in a shore colonized by Schoenoplectus californicus at the Quadros’ lake. Both places are located at the Maquiné river basin, on Rio Grande do Sul coastal plain, southern Brazil. Macrophyte branches are used in those places as raw material for craftworks, being an important income source for local people. Shallow lakes and lake shores are legally considered as natural protected areas and by so have restrictions on its use by humans. This research aimed to detect if the benthic macroinvertebrates respond to the macrophytes cut and to the vegetal regenaration in field experiments. Results indicate that benthic macroinvertebrates had a weak response to the cut disturbance event. Cut events characteritics such as intensity, frequency and scale of action may have not being strong sufficient to promote a noticeable change. Fast vegetal regeneration may have also acted promoting the weak benthic macroinvertebrates response to the disturbance event, corresponding to high system resilience.

Este estudo foi conduzido em um banhado palustre dominado por Typha domingensis na várzea do rio Maquine e na beira da lagoa dos Quadros, colonizada do Schoenoplectus californicus. Ambos os locais estão situados bacia hidrográfica do rio Maquiné, Planície costeira do Rio Grande do Sul, Sul do Brasil. Nestes locais são coletados rametes destas macrófitas como matéria prima para a confecção de artesanato, tendo importância econômica para as famílias da região. Áreas de banhado e beiras de lagoas são consideradas áreas de proteção permanente, tendo seu uso restrito. A pesquisa foi conduzida com o objetivo de se avaliar a resposta da fauna de macroinvertebrados frente ao corte destas macrófitas aquáticas em um experimento de campo e a regeneração vegetal. Os resultados apontam para uma fraca resposta da fauna de macroinvertebrados frente ao distúrbio de corte. As características do distúrbio de corte realizado como a intensidade, freqüência e escala podem não ter sido suficientes para causar uma mudança perceptível. A rápida regeneração vegetal pode ter possibilitado a fraca resposta dos macroinvertebrados. Além disso, é discutido que variáveis ambientais foram importantes durante a condução dos experimentos. / This study was executed in a wetland, dominated by Typha domingensis at the Maquine river mouth and in a shore colonized by Schoenoplectus californicus at the Quadros’ lake. Both places are located at the Maquiné river basin, on Rio Grande do Sul coastal plain, southern Brazil. Macrophyte branches are used in those places as raw material for craftworks, being an important income source for local people. Shallow lakes and lake shores are legally considered as natural protected areas and by so have restrictions on its use by humans. This research aimed to detect if the benthic macroinvertebrates respond to the macrophytes cut and to the vegetal regenaration in field experiments. Results indicate that benthic macroinvertebrates had a weak response to the cut disturbance event. Cut events characteritics such as intensity, frequency and scale of action may have not being strong sufficient to promote a noticeable change. Fast vegetal regeneration may have also acted promoting the weak benthic macroinvertebrates response to the disturbance event, corresponding to high system resilience.