The Studies of Periphyton: From Waters to Soils

Abstract

Copyright: © 2013 Wu Y. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The term ‘periphyton’ refers to the microfloral community attached to the surfaces of submerged objects in water [1], harbours algae, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, zooplankton and other invertebrates [2]. Periphyton accumulates on a dead or living surface/substrate ranging from clay particles, fine sand, pebbles, and rocks to shortlived filamentous algae, macrophytes, and animal bodies [1]. As with phytoplankton periphyton can be found in almost every type of water body from small ponds to large oceans and in trophic conditions that range from the most oligotrophic to the more eutrophic [3].