Abstract: We investigated the remediation effects of Typha angustifolia litter and its microbial decomposers on Cd²⁺ induced pollution. The impacts of Cd²⁺ with different concentrations (0.1, 1.0, 10 μg L^-1) on the growth and reproduction of Daphnia carinata were examined firstly and then 0.1 μg L^-1 of Cd²⁺ was used as the test concentration. The growth and reproduction of D. carinata were monitored after the addition of naturally incubated litter and Cd²⁺ incubated litter for 15 and 21 days. The results showed that the survival rate of D. carinata significantly decreased in the presence of Cd²⁺. The highest concentration of Cd²⁺ (10 μg L^-1) showed the strongest toxic effect, with the survival rate of D. carinata being only 40%. The growth and reproduction rates of D. carinatawere significantly improved under both naturally and Cd²⁺ incubated litter. For the reproduction parameters of D. carinata, the time for the first brood was shortened by 1-2 days, the number of offspring was increased by 22%-81%, and the reproduction rate was increased 3.07-4.7 times. Such a result indicated that T. angustifolia litter with microbial decomposers could quickly restore the food chain under Cd²⁺ pollution. Dactylaria and Massarina were the dominant species among the decomposers of T. angustifolia litter, which could perform the remediation effect on cadmium pollution in the aquatic ecosystems.

Key words: vegetation patches, microbial community, physicochemical properties, diversity.