¹Department of Botany, Shreenath PG Colege, Dungarpur ²Department of Zoology, Leo College, Banswara ³Department of Zoology, HDJ Government PG College, Banswara

^*Corresponding author: Bharadwaj S, Department of Zoology, HDJ Government PG College, Banswara; E-mail: Seema377@gmail.com

Copyright: © Chauhan NS, et al. 2023. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Information: Submission: 07/01/2023; Accepted: 10/02/2023; Published: 15/02/2023

The study presents the macro floral diversity of the Bhuwasa pond. It provides sensitive and cost-effective means of assessing the water quality of this pond. Aquatic macro floral diversity and its role in understanding this pond ecosystem have vast significance. 23 species of aquatic macrophytes belonging to 17 families. Free-floating (7 species) showed the largest number in our study, followed by anchored floating (5 species), anchored submerged (3 species), amphibious & rooted (2 species), emergent amphibious (2 species), free submerged (1 species), rooted emergent (1 species), submerged and floating (1 species) and wet fields and marshes (1 species) during the seasons (pre-monsoon, monsoon & post-monsoon). Shannon-Wiener’s indices were from 2.91 to 2.94 for all species in different seasons. Simpson’s diversity indices were from 0.93 to 0.95 for all species found in different seasons. Evenness were from 0.5 to 0.95 and species richness were 2.0 to 3.5 also recorded in all seasons.

Macro floral diversity; Bhuwasa pond; Abundance; Diversity index

Plants have evolved in many different ways of surviving in aquatic conditions and some have thick wax or hairy leaves so that the leaves are unwetable that types of aquatic plants are hydrophytic and macrophytes. Aquatic macrophytes are adapted to live in water. These are aquatic photosynthetic organisms large enough to be seen with the naked eye that actively grows permanently or periodically submerged floating or growing on the water’s surface. The present study is planned to explore Bhuwasa Pond for the species diversity of aquatic macrophytes. Commonly occurring species were noticed during the period of study. Most of these macrophytes grow naturally here.

Aquatic plants play a vital role in aquatic ecology. Macrophytes may enhance the variability of ecologically relevant physicochemical variables and impede mixing processes [1-3]. These macrophytes can change the quantity, composition and distribution of other aquatic organisms.

when they are abundant. Aquatic plants provide food for Water birds and other animals, establishing the foundation for aquatic wildlife conservation efforts. Researchers such as have examined the macrophytes of several water bodies in India [4-10]. Aquatic macrophytes are a group of plants that survive in wet habitats, including angiosperms, ferns, mosses, liverworts, and certain macroalgae [11]. It refers to plants visible to the human eye with at least some vegetative parts growing in permanent or intermittent water environments [12]. Aquatic angiosperms (flowering plants), pteridophytes (ferns) and bryophytes are the prominent plants that dominate marshes, shallow lakes and streams (mosses, liverworts, hornworts), where nitrogen loading is high, and they often develop more aggressively. Aquatic macrophytes are vital components of freshwater ecosystems that reflect the ecosystem’s overall health [13].

Aquatic macrophytes are impacted by water quality and they provide food, shelter and breeding places for aquatic fauna. These macrophytes may be floating unattached plants (plants with the majority of the plant at or near the water’s surface rooted and floating freely in the water and are not anchored to the bottom), floating attached plants (plants with floating leaves with stems under the surface and roots that anchor the plant to the substrate), submerged plants are found when the entire plant is submerged under the water’s surface and emergent plants (plants with roots that grow below water but stems and leaves that grow on the water surface) [14]. Macrophytes thrive in such conditions and sediments, where they may best root and endure the water’s erosive power during periodic scour episodes [15].

Macrophytes are those plants that grow in or near water and are emergent, submerged or floating. These modify themselves to survive in the aquatic environment. Their distribution is specific and depends on the water quality and environmental conditions. Macrophytes are unchangeable biological filters and carry out purification of the water bodies by accumulating dissolved metals and toxins in their tissues [16]. The variation in water chemistry can be assessed by surveying the abundance of macrophytic communities. The trophic nature has mainly influenced the variety of communities and indicator species that occur at particular sources. The macrophytes restore the extension of phytoplankton and help in the reuse of organic matter. The submerged species of macrophytes also act as green manure, favorable to the abundance of zooplankton and benthic fauna [17,18]. Aquatic macrophytes in ponds play a vital ecological balance and help stabilize and regulate the trophic state. They serve as bioindicators also. They significantly affect soil chemistry and light levels as they capture pollutants and trap sediments. Excess sediment will settle into the benthos aided by the reduction of flow rates caused by the presence of plants stems, leaves and roots. Macrophytes often grow more vigorously where nutrient loading is high.

Aquatic macrophytes play a vital role in making a healthy ecosystem and serve as primary producers of oxygen through photosynthesis. It provides a substratum for algae, protection for benthic fauna and a breeding ground for fish. Biodiversity and ecosystem-oriented studies with particular reference to macrophytes in freshwater bodies have attracted many research workers [19-21].

Aquatic macrophytes samples were collected during the early morning on a seasonal basis from each sampling site during the study period from July 2021 to June 2022 (pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon season). The identification of macrophytes was done with the help of standard books, monographs and identification keys [22-24].

Macrophytes in shallow water were immediately gathered, whereas those in deeper water were caught using a long-handled hook. The specimen was carefully cleaned and surplus water was absorbed with filter paper and stored in polythene bags lined with filter paper until transported to the laboratory. It was preserved in 5% formalin and then examined. Three replicate samples were collected from two stations with a hand net of 50 cm x 50 cm from the littoral zone. The macrophyte leaves and roots were then washed thoroughly several times in the net itself, removing all attached faunas manually from each strand with the help of a magnifying glass. A boat was used to collect data on macrophytes throughout the shoreline. A tub was used to collect submerged plants from the boat. A 1mx1m light wooden quadrat was used for a random sample approach. Hand plucking was used to count the macrophytes.

Importance value index = Relative frequency + Relative density + Relative dominance,

Where, Relative frequency = number of occurrences of one species, Relative density = number of individuals of one species, Relative dominance = Total area coverage (by visual estimation)

Simpson’s Dominance Index (D): - The Simpson’s index (D) is calculated using the following equation:

It represents the probability that two individual organisms randomly selected from a sample will belong to different species.

This is a frequently used approach for measuring biotic diversity in aquatic and terrestrial habitats.

The Shannon index considers both species richness and abundance. It’s just the distribution’s information entropy, with species as symbols and relative population sizes as probabilities.

This is the relative distribution of members within a community among taxonomic categories:
E= H’/logS
Where log S= Natural log of the total number of species
H’ = Shannon - Wiener diversity index. It refers to how evenly the abundances of the different groups in a sample or community are distributed.

Both of these terms refer to the number of species in a community. Individual species abundance is reported as a proportion of the total number of species present in the community, making it a relative metric. Particular species are enumerated instead of merely their presence or absence being studied while sampling the abundance of a species. When defining the community structure, abundance and frequency is quite important.

23 species belonging to 17 families of aquatic macrophytes were recorded in the present investigation (Table 1). In terms of species number of plants, free-floating (7 species) showed the largest number in our study, followed by anchored floating (5 species), anchored submerged (3 species), amphibious & rooted (2 species), emergent amphibious (2 species), free submerged (1 species), rooted emergent (1 species), submerged and floating (1 species) and wet fields and marshes (1 species) during the seasons (pre-monsoon, monsoon & post-monsoon). In terms of individual numbers, free-floating was the most dominant during the post-monsoon, while anchored floating and anchored submerged were dominant rest of the other seasons. Wolffia sp., Eichhornia sp. and Lemna sp. were found dominant during post-monsoon. Hydrilla sp. and Lemna sp. were the most during pre-monsoon Chara sp., Utricularia sp. and Eichhornia sp. were dominant during monsoon.

Seasonally, the important value index was highest in the postmonsoon (P.O.M.), which is followed by Hydrilla (dominating), Eichhornia, Utricularia, Wolffia, Ipomoea, Trapa, Lemna, Pistia and Nymphaea during pre-monsoon and monsoon. It was studied that excessive growth of aquatic weeds can be used as a bioindicator of water quality. In this study, anchored submerged, Hydrilla sp. was observed to be the most dominant genus in all seasons, such growth of the Hydrilla indicates that it is able to adapt to water conditions (Table 2). Similar findings regarding Hydrilla sp. are reported by [25].

Shannon-Wiener’s index for all species was found in the postmonsoon (2.93), as compared to the pre-monsoon (2.92) and monsoon (2.91). Simpson’s diversity indices for all species were found in post-monsoon (0.95), as compared to the pre-monsoon (0.94) and monsoon (0.93). The lowest diversity indices were observed during monsoon as compared to the other two seasons. Evenness (0.5-0.95) and Species richness (2.0-3.5) were also recorded for all seasons. Similar findings regarding indices are reported by [26]. Low diversity values of Shannon- Wiener’s index and Simpson’s diversity indices indicated that the Bhuwasa pond shows initial polluted conditions due to anthropogenic activities. Aquatic macrophytes provide food, shelter and a place for breeding therefore; it is an ideal component of aquatic wildlife conservation strategies. The growth of aquatic macrophytes indicates the presence of pollution in water. Aquatic macrophytes serve as the foundation for many micro and macroorganisms.

Table 1 and 2 summarize the all information and graphs from 1 to 4 show different types of macro floral diversity of the Bhuwasa pond.

Because of their growing relevance in an aquatic ecosystem, the study of aquatic macrophytes has risen dramatically during the last century. It contributes significantly to the structure and operation of the aquatic ecosystem. It impacts the hydrological and physicochemical environments, as well as supplying food and habitat to a variety of organisms.