Invasion of Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) Is Associated with Decline in Macrophyte Biodiversity in an Ethiopian Rift-Valley Lake—Abaya
Macrophytes, as an integral component of
wetlands and shallow lakes, play critical ecological role, such as nutrient
cycling, and nitrogen removal through denitrification coupled with
nitrification. Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is a menace to global aquatic environments with serious and
devastating consequences. It is also an
invasive plant species introduced to Ethiopian water bodies around the mid-20th century
with recently exacerbated devastating ecological and economic consequences.
In this paper, the
authors reported the impact of the invasive plant species on macrophyte species
assemblage and biodiversity in Lake Abaya, southwestern Ethiopia. In the study,
the authors compared four sites in Lake Abaya, two hyacinth infested and two
non-infested, each site consisting of 15 plots. And each plot (quadrats) with a
size of 0.5 × 0.5 m2 and 25 meter apart from each other. In the
field, macrophytes were counted within each plot. Besides, macrophyte species richness, abundance and Simpson’s diversity
index, and similarity index for plots was calculated using SPSS version and 17
Multiple Correspondence Analyses with two Dimensions was computed.
The results showed
that water hyacinth affected the macrophyte community composition, abundance
and diversity negatively. Even though some macrophyte species from the Poaceae
and Cyperaceae families appeared to coexist with the alien plant, the invasive
species had reduced macrophyte abundance and diversity at the infested sites,
and in some cases changed the community to nearly monotypic flora. The data
affirmed that water hyacinth had the potential to alter macrophyte composition,
abundance and diversity in the wider Ethiopian aquatic ecosystems.
In conclusion, the
paper reveals that wetland ecosystems, especially shallow freshwater lakes in
the tropics, continue to face sustained human infraction because of their close
ties with local economies and the livelihood of communities. And a comprehensive look at the wider environmental, economic and other
impacts of the invasive water hyacinth in Ethiopia is currently not only
warranted but overdue.
Article by Bedilu
Bekele Mengistu, et al, from Ethiopia and USA.
Full access: http://mrw.so/1Q6SnC
Image by G-TAKI, from Flickr-cc.
评论
发表评论