Ecological relationships of wild rice, Zizania aquatica. 2. Sediment – plant tissue nutrient relationships

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Abstract
In this study the concentrations of elements in wild-rice tissue were related to the concentrations of elements in the sediment. In particular, the occurrence of similar concentrations and seasonal fluctuations of elements in wild-rice tissue was investigated. A model, based on the assumption of constant absorption per unit weight, illustrated how wild rice could have similar concentrations of elements in its tissue, even though the concentrations of the elements in the sediment varied both among and within stations. For a theoretical example with logistic growth characteristics, the model produced patterns which resembled the concentration fluctuations of elements found in wild-rice tissue. Utilizing actual leaf magnesium and wild-rice growth data, the model produced accurate representations of leaf magnesium concentrations but only after the emergent-leaf stage was reached. Seasonal fluctuations of concentrations of elements occurred in wild-rice tissue. Such fluctuations would negate any correlations with the concentrations of elements in the sediment. However, when these seasonal fluctuations were removed, those elements which differed in concentration in the tissue among the four sampling stations still had poor correlations with the corresponding elements in the sediment. Simple correlation with concentrations of elements in the sediment would therefore not account for the observed concentrations of elements in wild-rice tissue in this case.