Effects of Environmental Stress on Nutrients of Typha domingensis Pers. Plant in Najaf, Iraq

This study determined the natural and environmental characteristics of Baher Al-Najaf Depression (BAND) in Iraq and their effect on nutrients of Typha domingensis as responses to environmental stresses in 4 sites. Samples were collected monthly (February 2015 to January 2016). The environmental factors of water and sediment were included: Temperature, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Salinity, pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Turbidity, Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Total Hardness (TH), Total Nitrogen (TN), Total Phosphorus (TP), Sulfate (SO42-), Potassium (K+1), Chloride (Cl-1), Sodium (Na1+), and Total Organic Carbon (TOC). The highest values of the environmental factors were found to be at autumn and summer whereas the lowest values were at winter and spring. Environmental factors were ordered significantly as follows: S2> S3> S4> S1. The studied factors of climate were air temperature, relative humidity, the intensity of solar radiation, precipitation rate and evaporation rate. This study has shown that climatic factors effected on water resources and salinity level in BAND. Ionic contents (Na+ and Cl-) were increased significantly whereas K+, TP, and TN were decreased with increasing levels of environmental stresses at each site along with the season. In general, the levels of nutrients (N and P) were ordered as follows: water <sediments < plants. This means that Typha domingensis have the ability the accumulation of nutrients.