Biomass density in Oussudu lake at five locations
1. Introduction
The Oussudu watershed is situated at 11°57' North and 77°45 ' East on either side of theborder separating the Union Territory of Puducherry and the Indian state of Tamil Nadu (Figure 1). Apart from playing a crucial role inrecharging the ground water aquifers, the Oussudu watershed also harbors rich flora and fauna (Chari and Abbasi, 2000; 2002; 2005). This watershed supports Puducherry's largest inland lake Oussudu which is also called -
In the recent past, Oussudu lake and its watershed have been subject to enormous pressuresdue to the increasing population, industrialization and urbanization. The resultant inputs of pollutants – rich in nitrogen and phosphorous – has provided aquatic weeds an opportunity to grow uncontrollably in the lake to the exclusion of other flora. This has led to a defacing of the lake by large patches of ipomoea
2. Methodology
2.1. Biomass estimation
The biomass estimation was done using the total harvest method as per APHA (2005). Brassrings of 31 cm diameter and 0.5m length were used as a sampling units. These rings wereplaced at 5 representative sites (Figure 2). All the macrophytes thatwere within the circumference of the rings were then harvested, segregated, identified, packed inpolythene covers and labeled appropriately. Some of the samples included grossly decayedplant material which had become unidentifiable. Such biomass was recorded as 'mixed phytomass'.
The samples were washed under the running tap to remove the debris and silt and were placedin a cloth bag. To this bag a piece of strong thread was tied and the bag was swirled till all the excess water was removed by the centrifugal force due to the swirling action. At
this point the sampleswere weighted for their
The moisture content was calculated as follows:
2.2. Remote sensing and GIS
The area covered by
The classified image was interpreted by means of visual observation (on-site verification). Five locations were chosen for biomass essay on the basis of achieving representativeness in terms of a) lake depth, b) extent of infestation, and c) proximity to population clusters.
3. Results and discussion
The dominant phytomass species at each of the five locations and the overall biomass density at each location are presented in Table 1. Lake-wise averages, computed on this basis, are presented in Table 2. This data, as well as visual observations indicate that Oussudu lake is heavily infested with
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
M1 | 0.48 | 0.34 |
|
2576 | 3 17 | 87.7 % |
|
5 | 1 | 85.6% | |||
M2 | 0.62 | 0.59 |
|
268 | 31 | 88.4% |
|
676 | 74 | 89. 1% | |||
M3 | 0.29 | -- |
|
864 | 97 | 88.7% |
Mixed phytornass | 555 | 6 1 | 89.1% | |||
M4 | 0.45 | 0.39 |
|
439 | 47 | 89.4% |
M5 | 0.06 | -- |
|
849 | 11 7 | 86.2% |
The species,
|
|
|
|
|
999 | 122 | 88.1 |
|
340 | 38 | 87.3 |
Mixed phytornass | 555 | 61 | 89.1 |
Like
The other aquatic weed,
The mixed phytomass sample collected at site M3, weighed 555 g m-2 when fresh, and 61 g m-2 when oven-dried. The moisture content measured 89% of the fresh weight (Table 2, Figure 4).
3.1. Areal coverage
According to the remote sensing and GIS studies carried out by the authors,
The presence of rampaging mats of terrestrial and aquatic weeds in Oussudu indicates that thelake is highly polluted and is, as a result, becoming eutrophic or 'obese' (Abbasi and Chari, 2008; Abbasi and Abbasi, 2010 b; Figure 7).
3.2. Impact on the lake ecosystem
Colonization of Oussudu by aquatic weeds threatens to upset the lake ecosystem in several ways. These include the following:
The thick mats of the weeds prevent sunlight from reaching the submerged flora andfauna, thereby cutting off their energy source. This situation would disfavor several species leading to dwindling of their populations and causing loss of diversity.
Once weeds colonize a water body due to pollution, they deteriorate the water qualityfurther (Abbasi and Nipaney, 1993; Abbasi and Abbasi 2000; Abbasi and Abbasi 2010c). The decaying of the weeds adds to the depletion ofdissolved oxygen, and increases the BOD, COD, nitrogen and phosphorus. This also encourages growth of various pathogens which may be harmful to humans.
The spread of weeds in the lake reduces the area available to fishes and hinders theirmobility. The depletion of dissolved oxygen may result in mass fish kills or may favor only certain kinds of fishes, (which can tolerate low oxygen levels), thereby eroding the piscian diversity.
The profuse growth of weeds breaks natural water currents. Consequently the waterbecomes stagnant, favoring the breeding of mosquitoes and other disease causing vectors.
Ipomoea is knowntogive off exudates which are toxic to certain animals and plants. The extracts of decaying leaves and rhizomes of several aquaticweeds are known for their phytotoxicity (Sankar Ganesh et al., 2008).
Weeds provide ideal habitat for the growth of molluscs, which in turn choke water supplysystems (canals and pipes) and impart undesirable taste and odour to water. Mollusks such assnails, are primary hosts to blood and liver flukesthe human disease causing pathogens.These mollusks seek shelter, multiply,and find sustenance among the roots of the weeds.
Many of the abovementioned impacts have been documented (Abbasi et al., 2008; 2009).
4. Remedial measures
The very high net biomass production in Oussudu lake may hasten the process of wetland-to-land succession, sounding the death-knell for the lake. Hence measures to control the weeds while at the same time blocking further ingress of pollutants in the lake are both very urgent requirements. Several methods of controlling the aquatic macrophytes have been suggested andfield-tested for their effectiveness; these have been summarized in Table 3. Ofthese methods, the one based on weed foragingby the diploid grass carp
|
|
|
|
|
Sediment removal | E | E | P | F |
Drawdown of water | G | F | E | F |
Sediment covers | E | F | P | L |
Grass Carp | P | E | E | F |
Insects | P | G | E | L |
Harvesting | E | F | F | F |
Herbicides | E | P | F | H |
The species - C.idella - was earlier introduced by Puducherry’s Department of Fisheries inOussudu lake, but is no longer present now. The triploid variant of this species, which isgenetically derived from the diploid grass carp, would preclude any possibility of the spread ofthe species.
Apart from C. idella, Tilapia zilli and T. aurea also feed voraciously on the macrophytesand the filamentous algae. Introduction of those would help in the reduction of phytomass and speed up the recovery of the lake.
Acknowledgments
Authors thank the Ministry of Water Resources. Government ofIndia, for financial support.
References
- 1.
Abbasi S.A. and Nipaney 1993 International book distributors, Dehradun. - 2.
Abbasi S. A. Abbasi N. 2000 The likely adverse environmental impacts of renewable energy sources 121 EOF 144 EOF - 3.
Abbasi T. Abbasi S. A. 2010a Remote Sensing, GIS and Wetland Management Discovery Publishing House, New Delhi vii+411 pages. - 4.
Abbasi T. Abbasi S. A. 2010b , Discovery Publishing House, New Delhi viii+301 pages. - 5.
Abbasi T. Abbasi S. A. 2010c Production of clean energy by anaerobic digestion of phytomass-New prospects, for a global warming amelioration technolog y,14 1653 1659 - 6.
Abbasi T. Chari K. B. Abbasi S. A. 2008 Oussudu lake, Pondicherry, India: A survey on socio-economic interferences, ,83(2), 149-162. - 7.
Abbasi T. Chari K. B. Abbasi S. A. 2009 Spatial and temporal patterns in the water quality of a major tropical lake- Oussudu, , 28 (3), 353-365. - 8.
APHA, 2005 American Public Health Association, Washington DC. - 9.
Avery T. E. Berline G. L. 1992 , MacMillan Publishing Company, New York. - 10.
Chari K. B. Abbasi S. A. 2000 Environmental Conditions of Oussudu Watershed, Pondicherry, India: An Integrated Geographical Assessment, The Indian Geographical Journal,75 2 81 94 - 11.
Chari K. B. Abbasi S. A. 2002 Application fo GIS and remote sending in the environmental assessment of Oussude Watershed, ,25 4 13 30 - 12.
Chari K. B. Abbasi S. A. 2005 A study on the fish fauna of Oussudu- A rare freshwater lake of South India, 62, (2) 137-145. - 13.
Gupta O.P. 1987 a Text Book and Manual, Today and Tommorrow’s Printers and Publishers, New Delhi. - 14.
Olem H. Flock G. (eds 1990 EPA 440/4-90-00 6, USEPA. Washington DC. - 15.
Sankar Ganesh. P. Sanjeevi R. Gajalakshmi S. Ramasamy E. V. Abbasi S. A. . 2008 Recovery of methane-rich gas from solid-feed anaerobic digestion of ipomoea (Ipomoea carnea) 812 EOF 818 EOF - 16.
CV7 Biomassfast-growing_GIS 27.12. 10