Do aquatic plants have the ability to pull nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, etc.) directly from the water, or do they utilize their roots to pull those nutrients from the bottom of the pond as those nutrients build up in the soil and muck?
My belief is that they have the ability to pull the majority of what they need directly from the water, and that the biggest "job" of the roots is to anchor the plant in place. Remember, that there are some underwater plants that have no root structure, like coontail.
Take Eurasian Water Milfoil for instance. A broken part of the plant will float along the surface of the pond, grow in length and put out roots to anchor itself once it stays in one place near the pond bottom long enough. How can it grow in length and put out roots if it isn't taking what it needs directly from the water column itself?
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