Seasonal dynamics of wetland flora in response to physico-chemical parameters of Pravas Wetland, Palpa, Nepal
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Authors
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Department of Botany
Abstract
The wetland plant communities are effective indicators of wetland status. The
fluctuations in seasonal environmental factors and water quality exert a significant
influence on the growth and proliferation of aquatic species in freshwater ecosystems.
The relationships between the seasonal variation of physico-chemical parameters and
the diversity of plant species were investigated in Pravas wetland using correlation
analysis and CCA. Seven water quality parameters were selected and analyzed from
different 32 sampling points. A wooden framed quadrat of sized (1m×1m) was laid
down for species sampling. The presented flora was evaluated by species composition,
species richness and the ecological indices. Total of 73 plant species were recorded with
the dominancy of emergent species, Poaceae was the dominant family followed by
Cyperaceae and Asteraceae in two seasons. Shannon- Weiner Index was high during
post-monsoon season than pre-monsoon. Digitaria species was dominant during the
post-monsoon and Cynodon dactylon was dominant during pre-monsoon season.
Among all studied characteristics, temperature and phosphorous were the most
responsible characters affecting the species abundance during both post and premonsoon
season.
The
physico-chemical
characteristics
of
the
water
(temperature
and
dissolved
oxygen)
exhibited
significant
variations
between
the
seasons
with
the
change
in
species
composition.
The
post-monsoon
season
was
found
to
be
more
favourable
for
macrophyte
growth due to the flushing of nutrients through high rainfall. It was
revealed that the wetland plant diversity was changed accordance with the season with
the change in nutrient level in the water quality. The prevalence of emergent indicates
an escalation in increasing productivity of the lake ecosystem.