Macrophytes as remediation technology in improving ludas lake sediment

Abstract

Ludas lake is Pannonian plain Lake settled 4 km from Palic. The lake is characterized by thick sediment layers with high content of phosphorus and nitrogen. These thick layers are the result of accelerated eutrophication and cause lost of biodiversity and disruption of ecosystem. Numerous methods can be used to overcome the problem of accelerated eutrophication (sediment removal, phosphorus inactivation etc.), but those methods have a lot deficiencies. To overcome that, the use of macrophytes to resolve the problem of eutophication becomes more and more popular. The main aim of this paper was to examine the germination possibilities of mustard (Sinapis alba L.), alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), oat (Avena sativa L.) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) on Ludas's sediment as a substrate. This was used as a pre-screening test for plants suitability for further phytoremediation. The results showed that plant species can germinate and grow in early stages in such a substrate, so they can be recommended for sediment phytoremediation.