Study on the mechanisms of water ecological remediation integrated by attapulgite and submerged macrophyte

Xiaopei Du; Rou Wang; Yunli Liu; Hang Yang; Qi Feng; Guoliang Bai; Qiaohong Zhou; Zhenbin Wu; Yi Zhang

doi:10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2025.100157

The Innovation Geoscience > 2025 Vol. 3 > No. 4 > 100157

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Study on the mechanisms of water ecological remediation integrated by attapulgite and submerged macrophyte

1.
State Key Laboratory of Breeding Biotechnology and Sustainable Aquaculture, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China
2.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
3.
These authors contributed equally

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Corresponding authors: liuyl@ihb.ac.cn (Y. L.); zhangyi@ihb.ac.cn (Y. Z.)
Received Date: March 03, 2025

Accepted Date: June 28, 2025

Published Online: July 04, 2025

The Innovation Geoscience 3(4), https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2025.100157 | Cite this article

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PUBLIC SUMMARY

PUBLIC SUMMARY
1. Synergistic control of endogenous phosphorus release by submerged macrophytes and modified mineral materials.
  
  Mineral materials strengthen antioxidation enzyme and decrease reactive oxygen content.
  
  The materials increase complexity and stability of rhizosphere microbial community.
  
  Sediment physicochemical conditions were optimized for submerged macrophyte.

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

Phosphorus is considered to be a limiting nutrient that affects primary productivity, and sediment is an important source and sink of phosphorus in lakes. This study investigates how raw attapulgite (RAT) and thermally modified attapulgite (MAT) interact with submerged macrophyte Hydrilla verticillata to control sediment endogenous phosphorus. Attapulgite is rich in essential trace and major elements for plant growth, with properties such as non-toxicity, strong adsorption, and chemical stability. Results show that calcination at 500°C significantly enhances attapulgite's phosphorus adsorption capacity, increasing its specific surface area and pore volume. The growth of Hydrilla verticillata was improved by MAT, which enhanced its stress resistance through increased antioxidant enzyme activity. The addition of 10% and 20% RAT notably increased sediment redox potential, reduced sediment pH to neutral, and created favorable conditions for biological proliferation. Additionally, the findings indicate that the addition of attapulgite markedly reduces the organic matter and phosphorus content in sediments, helping to mitigate the risk of internal nutrient release in eutrophic lakes. In summary, attapulgite can accelerate the recovery of lake ecosystem by enhancing the stress resistance of submerged macrophyte, reducing the content of organic matter and phosphorus in sediments, improving the oxygen content of sediments, and reducing the release of endogenous phosphates. This study provides scientific evidence and theoretical support for the application of attapulgite in the restoration of eutrophic lake sediments.
- Raw attapulgite (RAT) /
- Thermally modified attapulgite (MAT) /
- Hydrilla verticillate /
- Sediment microenvironment /
- Endogenous phosphorus

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Du X., Wang R., Liu Y., et al. (2025). Study on the mechanisms of water ecological remediation integrated by attapulgite and submerged macrophyte. The Innovation Geoscience 3:100157. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2025.100157

Du X., Wang R., Liu Y., et al. (2025). Study on the mechanisms of water ecological remediation integrated by attapulgite and submerged macrophyte. The Innovation Geoscience 3:100157. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2025.100157

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Study on the mechanisms of water ecological remediation integrated by attapulgite and submerged macrophyte

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