[Modelling nitrogen and phosphorus transfer in Potamogeton malaianus Miq. decompostion]

Potamogeton malaianus Miq. is one of the dominant species of submerged aquatic vegetations in Lake Taihu, China. The decomposition of its debris and metabolic detritus is an important part of nutrients cycling in the lake water. Nitrogen and phosphorus transfer model in P. malaianus Miq. decomposition has been set up based on an indoor P. malaianus Miq. decomposition experiment to quantitatively characterize the decomposition process. It mainly focuses on the dissolving process of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus in P. malaianus Miq., the degradation process of its organic nitrogen and phosphorus, and the boundary's adsorbing process of nitrogen and phosphorus in water. There are eight state variables in the model, including inorganic and organic nitrogen in P. malaianus Miq., inorganic and organic phosphorus in P. malaianus Miq., total nitrogen and total phosphorus in water, and nitrogen and phosphorus adsorbed on container boundary. The model calibration showed a good accordance with the observed results of P. malaianus Miq. decomposition experiment. The dissolve rates of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus in P. malaianus Miq. are 0.04 d(-1) and 0.06 d(-1) respectively. And the decompose rates of these two state variables are 0.005 25 d(-1) and 0.010 44 d(-1) respectively. Model outputs show that 6.7% nitrogen and 35.8% phosphorus can release from P. malaianus Miq. in the former 5 days. Phosphorus release is prior to nitrogen due to the bigger inorganic/organic ratio of phosphorus than that of nitrogen in P. malaianus Miq., Decomposition of P. malaianus Miq. could be affected by water temperature, and the affection is slight when water temperature is lower according to the model. The model also showed that P. malaianus Miq. decomposition process has influences on water quality in the former days, which can be eliminated by adsorbing process later.