# Title of Dataset: Data from: Aquatic ecosystem responds differently to press and pulse nutrient disturbances as revealed by a microcosm experiment --- Aquatic ecosystem responds differently to press and pulse nutrient disturbances. It is interesting to know whether such aquatic ecosystems composed of submerged macrophytes and algae respond differently to press/pulse disturbances of nutrients. To answer this question, aquatic ecosystems consisting of submerged macrophytes and algae were constructed through a microcosm experiment and were exposed to different forms of nutrient disturbances. Three treatments were set up: (1) no nutrient addition (control treatment), (2) a constant input of nutrients (press treatment), and (3) the same amount of nutrients as (2) but as pulse additions (pulse treatment). Our object is to identify the differences in the response of aquatic systems to press and pulse nutrient disturbances and the mechanisms responsible for the differences. ## Description of the Data and file structure A total of two data files are included. One described the indicators in water and one described the indicators for plants. Water indicators: The nutrient variable observed in the water column was total phosphorus (TP).The optical density 680 (OD680) value, which represents the algal density, was measured at a wavelength of 680 nm using an ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometer accurately and rapidly. Plant indicators: After 30 days, intact plants were collected and washed for laboratory determination of indicators. Weight and root/shoot were expressed in fresh weight. Peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were extracted from fresh V. natans tissues. The enzymatic content of M. spicatum was not analyzed, due to insufficient fresh weight for grinding. * Corresponding autor: zhaoyu181@mails.ucas.ac.cn