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 designsFocuses on the function of periphyton in remediating destructed ecosystemsProvides readers with an understanding of periphyton in practice, especially the value of periphyton in enhancing environmental and ecosystem qualitiesDiscusses the role of periphyton in purifying water and its effect on abiotic elements
