Assessing the abundance of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), particularly in shallow lakes, is essential for effective lake management activities. In the present study we applied satellite remote sensing (a Landsat-8 image) in order to evaluate the SAV coverage area and its biomass for the peak growth period, which is mainly in September or October (2013 to 2016), in the eutrophic and shallow south basin of Lake Biwa. We developed and validated a satellite-based water transparency retrieval algorithm based on the linear regression approach (R² = 0.77) to determine the water clarity (2013–2016), which was later used for SAV classification and biomass estimation. For SAV classification, we used Spectral Mixture Analysis (SMA), a Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM), and a binary decision tree, giving an overall classification accuracy of 86.5% and SAV classification accuracy of 76.5% (SAV kappa coefficient 0.74), based on in situ measurements. For biomass estimation, a new Spectral Decomposition Algorithm was developed. The satellite-derived biomass (R² = 0.79) for the SAV classified area gives an overall root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.26 kg Dry Weight (DW) m^-2. The mapped SAV coverage area was 20% and 40% in 2013 and 2016, respectively. Estimated SAV biomass for the mapped area shows an increase in recent years, with values of 3390 t (tons, dry weight) in 2013 as compared to 4550 t in 2016. The maximum biomass density (4.89 kg DW m^-2) was obtained for a year with high water transparency (September 2014). With the change in water clarity, a slow change in SAV growth was noted from 2013 to 2016. The study shows that water clarity is important for the SAV detection and biomass estimation using satellite remote sensing in shallow eutrophic lakes. The present study also demonstrates the successful application of the developed satellite-based approach for SAV biomass estimation in the shallow eutrophic lake, which can be tested in other lakes.

Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs), also called constructed floating wetlands or floating islands, are a recent innovation in constructed wetlands (CWs) inspired by natural wetlands. In FTWs, emergent plants grown hydroponically on buoyant mats are used for wastewater treatment, which makes them far more economical than other CWs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of FTWs for the treatment of municipal wastewater from an urban drain using native plant species Canna indica and Phragmites australis. A pilot-scale experiment was carried out using four FTW treatment cells with different plant coverages for pollutant removal: C1 (Canna indica, 100% coverage), C2 (Phragmites australis, 100% coverage), C3 (Phragmites australis, 50% coverage), and C4 (control). Overall, treatment cells with Canna indica and Phragmites australis showed reductions in BOD₅, COD, EC, TDS, NO₃⁻, and PO₄³⁻ compared with the control. Maximum BOD₅ and COD removal was 53% and 50%, respectively, at 50% coverage of Phragmites australis (C3). The maximum reduction in NO₃⁻ (61%) was achieved using Canna indica at 100% coverage (C1). Conversely, moderate removal of PO₄³⁻ (27%) was obtained in the control (C4) with a visibly high amount of algal growth, indicating the influence of algae on pollutant removal. This study highlights the significance of Phragmites australis for organic matter removal and Canna indica for nutrient removal, mainly NO₃⁻ from municipal wastewater. Furthermore, this study suggests that FTWs perform well for BOD₅ and COD removal at 50% plant coverage (Phragmites australis) and NO₃⁻ removal at 100% coverage (Canna indica).