Seagrass(Zostera marina L., Zosteraceae) Bed in the Brackish Lake Hwajinpo, Korea

Abstract

This study was conducted to clarify the habitat characteristics and distribution of seagrass, Zostera marina L. (Zosteraceae) in the brackish Hwajinpo Lake, Korea in June 1998 and July 2000. Z. marina beds were distributed along the sea-side cost of the lower lake mouth at 0.8 to 1.5m in depth, and the seagrass bed area was about 3,200㎡. Salinity, water temperature and pH were in the range of 8.0∼23.0‰, 22.0∼23.7℃ and 8.34∼8.62, respectively. Nutrient concentrations were generally low (TN: 24.34μM, NH4-N: 2.57μM, NO3-N: 0.56μM, NO2-N: 0.27μM, TP: 2.08μM, PO4-P: 0.34μM). Suspended particulate matters (SPM) concentration averaged 62.8㎎/ℓ and particulate organic matter (POM) averaged 21.3㎎/ℓ. Organic content of SPM averaged 33.9%. The beds substratum was composed of well-sorted, fine sand and its mean grain size was 3.13Φ. The Z. marina vegetation was almost submerged, and the morphological characteristics can be classified as steno-leaf phenotype by the shoot length, leaf width, and number of leaf vein. Shoot length and leaf width were 70.0∼126.5㎝ and 5∼7㎜, respectively. Shoot densities ranged from 264 to 296/㎡, and the plants biomass was estimated at 332.6 to 373.0g dw/㎡. Therefore, the habitats of Z. marina in Korea were recognized in a brackish lake, and morphological characteristics appeared to be variable.