Growth Recovery of Lemna gibba and Lemna minor Following a 7-Day Exposure to the Herbicide Diuron

Abstract In agricultural catchments, aquatic ecosystems can experience a pulse exposure to pesticides. Following such exposure, non-target organisms that are not extirpated may recover. This paper investigates the potential of two duckweed species (Lemna minor and Lemna gibba) to recover from a 7-day exposure to different concentrations (0.4–208 µg L−1) of the herbicide diuron. There was significant inhibition in the growth and biomass after the initial 7-day exposure (e.g. frond number EC50 = 59.2 and 52.2 µg L−1 for L. minor and L. gibba, respectively). Following transfer to clean media, recovery (the highest concentration yielding no significant difference in the effect endpoint from the control) was observed for all effects endpoints at concentrations ranging 60–111 µg L−1 for L. minor and 60–208 µg L−1 for L. gibba. These results suggest that recovery is possible for primary producers at environmentally relevant concentrations considered significant in ecological risk assessment.