Multiple roles of bamboo as a regulator of cyanobacterial bloom in aquatic systems

Abstract

To understand the potential roles of terrestrial bamboo on controlling cyanobacterial blooms in aquatic systems, growth rates of the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa and its competitor algae were examined under different concentrations of bamboo extract. In mono-species cultures with unicellular algal strains, 5.0 g L−1 extract treatment suppressed M. aeruginosa growth, while it had little effect on the growth of green alga Scenedesmus obliquus or promoted the growth of diatom Nitzschia palea. In co-species cultures, the extract treatment increased the effect of S. obliquus and N. palea on the growth of M. aeruginosa. Under the extract treatment with a field-collected M. aeruginosa population, its cell density declined and its colony was etiolated and sank, while co-cultured N. palea increased explosively by invading the colony. These results suggest that bamboo forest stands along banks and artificially installed bamboo poles can affect the aquatic environment for phytoplankton community. Enhancing the growth of competitors, especially diatoms that can invade cyanobacterial colonies, by using extracts or by providing substrates for growth, was suggested to be the major way of the bloom control by bamboo.