Relationship between the temperature and the overwintering of water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) at Kowataike, a branch of Yodogawa River, Japan

Abstract

The successful overwintering of water lettuce (Araceae, Pistia stratiotes L.) is reported in Kowataike, a pond in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, in the temperate climate zone. Overwintering was observed in the northern zone of Kowataike, where warm water discharge flows from an upstream electrical appliance factory. From December 2007 to January 2008, several overwintering water lettuce plants were observed in the northern zone where the water temperature was abnormally high (average: 21.9°C; low: 19.5°C). Water in the central zone of Kowataike was isolated from the warm water discharge. The temperatures here were much lower (average: 8.2°C; low: 4.2°C) and no water lettuce plant survived here. The overwintering in the northern zone fluctuated annually. This fluctuation appeared to be correlated with the period of warm water discharge, which varied from year to year and resulted in higher water temperatures most, but not all, of the winter. The results suggest that artificial environmental factors, such as anthropogenic warm water discharge, could enable water lettuce to overwinter. In the northern zone of Kowataike under the influence of the warm water discharge, only small water lettuce plants overwintered. This may be attributed to the presence of older plants with larger leaves that seemed to protect the small rosettes from frost. Second, the air warmed by the warm discharge accumulated in the space under the piles of dead large leaves, which created conditions similar to those of a greenhouse. These two mechanisms apparently allow the small water lettuce plants to be surrounded by moderate atmospheric conditions.