Living with floating vegetation invasions

verfasst von

Fritz Kleinschroth, R. Scott Winton, Elisa Calamita, Fabian Niggemann, Martina Botter, Bernhard Wehrli, Jaboury Ghazoul

Abstract

Invasions of water bodies by floating vegetation, including water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), are a huge global problem for fisheries, hydropower generation, and transportation. We analyzed floating plant coverage on 20 reservoirs across the world’s tropics and subtropics, using > 30 year time-series of LANDSAT remote-sensing imagery. Despite decades of costly weed control, floating invasion severity is increasing. Floating plant coverage correlates with expanding urban land cover in catchments, implicating urban nutrient sources as plausible drivers. Floating vegetation invasions have undeniable societal costs, but also provide benefits. Water hyacinths efficiently absorb nutrients from eutrophic waters, mitigating nutrient pollution problems. When washed up on shores, plants may become compost, increasing soil fertility. The biomass is increasingly used as a renewable biofuel. We propose a more nuanced perspective on these invasions moving away from futile eradication attempts towards an ecosystem management strategy that minimizes negative impacts while integrating potential social and environmental benefits.

Externe Organisation(en)

ETH Zürich
Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag)
VISTA Remote Sensing in Geosciences GmbH
Utrecht University
University of Edinburgh

Typ

Artikel

Journal

AMBIO

Band

50

Seiten

125-137

Anzahl der Seiten

13

ISSN

0044-7447

Publikationsdatum

01.2021

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Geografie, Planung und Entwicklung, Umweltchemie, Ökologie

Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung

SDG 7 – Erschwingliche und saubere Energie, SDG 11 – Nachhaltige Städte und Gemeinschaften, SDG 15 – Lebensraum Land

Elektronische Version(en)

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-020-01360-6 (Zugang: Offen)