Role of Submerged Macrophytes in Restoring Eutrophic Lakes

Abstract

Eutrophication remains one of the most pressing challenges for freshwater ecosystems, leading to harmful algal blooms, oxygen depletion, and biodiversity loss. Submerged macrophytes, or submerged aquatic plants, play a central role in counteracting eutrophication by functioning as ecosystem engineers. They regulate nutrient dynamics, suppress algal growth, stabilize sediments, and enhance oxygen conditions, thereby facilitating the transition of lakes from turbid, phytoplankton-dominated states to clear-water conditions. This article reviews the ecological roles of submerged macrophytes in restoring eutrophic lakes, highlighting their contributions to nutrient uptake, algae control, oxygen production, habitat provision, sediment stabilization, and allelopathic interactions. A better understanding of these functions underscores the importance of submerged plants as a natural, sustainable, and cost-effective approach to freshwater restoration.