Effects of Submersed Macrophytes on Water Quality in the Tidal Potomac River, Maryland

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Abstract
In August, 1986, diurnal measurements of temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen and pH, and tide-related measurements of suspended-particulate matter and chlorophyll-a were made at three stations within a dense macrophyte bed and at a fourth unvegetated station outside the bed. Light penetration and current velocity were measured at a hole within the bed and at the unvegetated station. Water temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH increased during the day with the steepest vertical gradients and maximum readings occurring within the bed during midafternoon at low tide. Current velocities within the beds were about one-third of those at the open-water site and water clarity was considerably greater inside the bed. Chlorophyll-a and suspended-particulate concentrations were significantly lower at vegetated stations than at the unvegetated open-water station.