Abstract:

In recent decades，eutrophication had led to decline in charophyte vegetation in many shallow lakes throughout the world.However，charophytes，by several mechanisms，could positively affect water transparency and be an efficient nutrient trap，whose ecological significance in reestablishment of vegetation and maintenance of clearwater stable state in shallow lakes had been demonstrated.Therefore，charophytes often play an important role in many restoration projects carried out to reduce the negative effects of eutrophication.However，little attention was paid to charophyte plants and ecological researches on them were far behind that on vascular aquatic plants in China.In order to elaborate the essentiality to evolve the charophyte ecology in China，this text firstly gave brief introduction of charophyte plants，reviewed alternative stable states between clearhigh vegetation and turbidlow vegetation in shallow lakes，focused on the significance of charophyte in eutrophic restoration of shallow lakes，and reviewed these environmental factors which affect their growth and reproduction.Finally some suggestions in relation to peculiar distribution of charophyte plant in China were given on the studies to be carried out in ecology of charophyte plants