Trace metals concentration in water hyacinth implicates the saltwater barrage altered hydrography of Kochi backwaters, southwest Coast of India

Arunpandi, N.; Jyothibabu, R.; Savitha, M.K.M.; Parthasarathi, S.; Rashid, C.P.; Josna, M.P.; Santhikrishnan, S.; Sarath, S.; Balachandran, K.K.

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112447

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Another ecological aspect of water weed proliferation is increased water loss to the atmosphere in water weed infested areas due to high evapotranspiration rates, which could adversely affect the water conservation strategies (Fig. 8; Arunpandi et al, 2021). Invasive water weeds are often generalist species that can thrive in a wide variety of environmental conditions and can make use of a variety of different resources when compared to native ora (Fleming and Dibble, 2014).…”

Section: Ecology and Productivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The abundant fossilised marine molluscs excavated in plotting vertical salinity characteristics before and after the construction of the Thanneermukkom Bund. Salinity data were obtained from Haridas et al, (1973) and Arunpandi et al, (2021) to represent the salinity distribution in the VLS before and after the barrage, respectively, to gain an understanding of the long-term change in the salinity distribution. A satellite image of VBL before and after the ood event of August 2018 was obtained from NASA Earth Observatory (https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/) to visualise the extent of ood water inundation in the VLS favouring the spread of water weed proliferation…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Imchen et al, 2017;Arunpandi et al, 2021). This problem needs to be thoroughly investigated and necessary mitigation measures implemented by authorities to remove the piled up weed biomass regularly and scienti cally bury it to avoid nutrient and heavy metal leaching into the region's recreational beaches.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Environmental and human facets of the waterweed proliferation in a Vast Tropical Ramsar Wetland-Vembanad Lake System

Jyothibabu

Sudhakaran

Kalathil

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The Vembanad Lake and its associated low-lying areas and network of canals (hereafter VBL) form the major part of India’s second-largest Ramsar wetland (1512 km2). Located in Kerala State on India's southwest coast, the extensive VBL has a large fishery, inland waterways, and popular tourist attractions that support the livelihoods of thousands of people. Over the last several decades, the proliferation of water weeds in the VBL has alarmingly increased, causing many adverse ecological and socioeconomic effects. Eichhornia crassipes, Monochoria vaginalis, Salvinia molesta, Limnocharis flava, Pistia stratiotes, and Hydrilla verticillata are the most troublesome water weeds in the VBL, with the first three being the most widespread. They were mostly imported to India long ago before becoming a part of the VBL. These weeds harmed water quality, waterways, agriculture, fisheries, disease vector management, as well as the vertical and horizontal shrinkage of the VBL through increased siltation and faster ecological succession. The inherently fragile VBL was harmed by extensive and long-term reclamation, the construction of saltwater barrages, and many landfill roads that crisscross water bodies serving as coastal dams, creating water stagnation. These ecological imbalances were exacerbated by excessive fertiliser use in agricultural areas, as well as the addition of nutrient-rich domestic and municipal sewage, which provided an adequate supply of nutrients and a favourable habitat for the expansion of water weeds. The recurrent floods in the VBL also favour the proliferation of water weeds, with the potential to disrupt their current distribution pattern and spread in the future.

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Section: Ecology and Productivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%