This Plain English fact sheet outlines the work done by the EPA in monitoring aquatic plants in Irish lakes.
Summary: Aquatic plants are good at showing if the quality of the water is good or bad and play an important role in lake ecology by providing food and a habitat for many smaller plants, animals and birds.
Aquatic plants play an important role in lake ecology by providing food and a habitat for many smaller plants, animals and birds.
They also:
• provide shelter for young fish,
• help to improve the clarity of the water,
• help stabilise lake shore banks, and
• reduce the amount of sediment being suspended in the water.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) monitors these aquatic plants at more than 10,000 sites in over 200 lakes once every three years.
https://www.epa.ie/media/epa-2020/monitoring-amp-assessment/freshwater-amp-marine/EPA_Lake-Monitoring_Aquatic-Plants_factsheet_thumb.jpg