Ecological Dynamics of Water Hyacinth in Coimbatore Lakes: Implications for Biomass, Carbon Stock, and Nutrient Management
L. Arul Pragasan *
Department of Environmental Sciences, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore – 641 046, Tamil Nadu, India.
M. Vijayakumar
Department of Environmental Sciences, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore – 641 046, Tamil Nadu, India and Lakshmi Card Clothing Manufacturing Company Pvt. Ltd., Coimbatore – 641 037, Tamil Nadu, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
In aquatic ecosystems, water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) often proliferates, impacting water quality and ecological balance. This study investigates the density, biomass, carbon stock, and nutrient concentrations of E. crassipes across five significant lakes in Coimbatore: Krishnampathy, Kurichi, Ukkadam, Singanallur, and Sulur. Field surveys, laboratory analyses and statistical methods were adopted in this study. The highest density of E. crassipes was observed in Krishnampathy Lake (59±2.5, no./m2). The biomass values (kg/m2) ranged from 1.00 to 7.33 for leaf, 3.23 to 8.03 for stalk, and from 1.47 to 10.80 for root samples. The carbon stock values (kg/m2) ranged from 0.51 to 3.74 for leaf, 1.49 to 3.73 for stalk, and from 0.68 to 4.19 for root samples, revealing the species potential role in reducing atmospheric carbon in mitigation of climate change. We have studied the macro and micro-nutrient concentrations present in E. crassipes, and also we checked the relationship between chlorophyll content and nutrient concentration with the carbon stock of different plant parts of E. crassipes. This study contributes to a better understanding of the ecological dynamics of water hyacinth in inland water bodies and its potential implications for carbon cycling and nutrient dynamics.
Keywords: Water hyacinth, lakes, aquatic ecosystem, ecosystem management, India