Effect of water quality on the spatial distribution of charophytes in the Peshawar Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

The presented research was conducted in 2018–2019 in the Peshawar Valley, Pakistan, to study for the first time the effect of water quality on the spatial distribution of charophytes. A total of six taxa of charophytes were found at 41 sites in the Peshawar Valley along the banks of seven rivers, 16 streams and two wetlands: Chara braunii C.C.Gmelin, C. connivens Salzmann ex A. Braun, C. contraria A. Braun ex Kützing, C. globularis Thuiller, C. vulgaris Linnaeus, and Nitellopsis obtusa (Desvaux) J. Groves. Chara vulgaris was the most abundant species, followed by C. globularis, and C. contraria. Water pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity and dissolved oxygen (DO) were within the permissible limits for Pakistan, while water temperature, oxidation reduction potential (ORP) and resistivity showed deviations. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) revealed that DO affected Chara vulgaris, pH and resistivity affected C. braunii, C. connivens and C. globularis, temperature and ORP affected C. contraria and Nitellopsis obtusa. Furthermore, CCA showed that TDS, EC, and salinity had no effect on the spatial distribution of Chara contraria, C. vulgaris and Nitellopsis obtusa. Chara contraria and Nitellopsis obtusa should be protected under VU (Vulnerable) status (IUCN) along with their habitats.

Microalgae Indicators of Charophyte Habitats of South and Southeast Kazakhstan

“…The study of charophyte communities in northern Pakistan in the Kabul River Valley under similar conditions to our study region in terms of climate and anthropogenic pressure [6,73] has revealed that the main regulating factor on the distribution of algal diversity was altitude, similar to our findings. The climatically close region of the eastern Mediterranean was studied in various aspects in relation to charophytes and their distribution according to environmental parameters [74][75][76].…”

“…As pioneer species, they usually start to occupy a new habitat, and are the first to colonize emerging or disturbed water bodies [5]. Since charophytes form in mass such as meadows and have the ability to influence water quality due to their active participation in ecosystem processes, it is important to identify the properties of the habitat in which they occupy a leading position [6,7].…”

Water ecological requirements of Characeae taxa in eastern Spain

“…Leibold et al, 2010). Charophytes were distributed in Chile mainly according to pH and alkalinity (Schubert et al, 2018), in Pakistan essentially according to pH and salinity (Khuram et al, 2021), and in northeastern USA according to Ca 2+ concentration and salinity (Sleith et al, 2018).…”

“…Generally, in Chile Nitella species prefer also water with lower conductivity than Chara species (Schubert et al, 2018). Chara braunii and/or C. fragilis have also been recorded in freshwaters in the United States (Wood, 1952), in the Baltic Sea (Blindow, 2000) in Pakistan (Khuram et al, 2021), and in southeastern France (Grillas, 1990;Grillas et al, 1993). Although in Australia, in Germany, and in southeastern Spain C. fragilis was found in habitats with both fresh and saline waters (Brock and Lane, 1983;Moreno et al, 2001;Becker et al, 2016).…”