Periphyton

Periphyton: Functions and Application in Environmental Remediation presents a systematic overview of a wide variety of periphyton functions and applications in environmental remediation, providing readers with an understanding of the biological/ecological features of periphyton, the methodology of their study, and their application in environmental conservation. With increases in environmental stress, anthropogenic impacts, and the global decline in biodiversity, there is a pressing need for methods to assess and improve environmental quality that are rapid, reliable, and cost-effective. Periphyton is an important component of benthic communities and plays a crucial role in the functioning of microbial food webs. Because of a number of advantages, such as a short lifecycle, relative immobility, more rapid responses to environmental stress and anthropogenic impact than any metazoa, ease of sampling, availability of taxonomic/molecular identification, and standardized methodologies for temporal/spatial comparisons, there has, in recent decades, been an increased interest in periphyton as a tool in biological conservation in aquatic ecosystems. - Presents case studies that help readers implement similar ecological designs - Focuses on the function of periphyton in remediating destructed ecosystems - Provides readers with an understanding of periphyton in practice, especially the value of periphyton in enhancing environmental and ecosystem qualities - Discusses the role of periphyton in purifying water and its effect on abiotic elements

Professor Yonghong Wu works at the Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He obtained his bachelor degree from Northwest A & F University, China. He finished his Masters study at the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Science and obtained his PhD from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is currently the head of the Soil-Water Interface Ecology Research Group in the Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the head of the Zigui Ecological Experiment Station of the Three Gorge Project, Chinese Academy of Sciences