Annual production and productivity of the macrophytes of river Champanala, a side spill channel of the Ganges at Bhagalpur

✍ Scribed by Hasan, R.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1988
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 336 KB
• Volume: 16
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0323-4320
• DOI: 10.1002/aheh.19880160604

✦ Synopsis

The present investigation gives the turnover value and productivity of macrophytes like Eichhomia crassipee, Hydrilla verticillata, Ceratophyllum demeraum, Potamogeton oriapua and Azolla pinnnta for the year 1978 a t Koylaghat site of the Champanala channel, a southern side spill channel of the river Ganges. The average annual production of all the macrophytes comes to 3.925 g/m' d, which is better than the world average of rice cultivated fields. All the important macrophytes in the present investigation are replaced annually. I n contrast to pond and reservoir ecosystems, where the productivity of macrophytes is highest in the rainy season, in the Champanala channel the most of the macrophytes are absent from July t o December and maximal productivity was about 4 g/m2 . d from February to April. The difference in the development of macrophytes in standing and flowing waters results from the fact that in the rainy season increasing flow velocity, sudden fluctuat,ions in water column depth and other destabilising factors produce unfavourable conditions for macrophytes in flowing waters.