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Investigating the Aquatic weeds on the Westlake Wetland: Detrimental effects and management options
The aquatic weeds on the Westlake wetland at Zandvlei (Cape Town, South Africa) were investigated in terms of their detrimental effects, and the biotic and abiotic conditions associated with their nuisance growth. Eichhornia crassipes was the most problematic of the weeds, both from a human perspect...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Biological Sciences
2017
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| _version_ | 1867613254926204928 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Archibald, Sally |
| author2 | Bolton, John J |
| author_browse | Archibald, Sally Bolton, John J |
| author_facet | Bolton, John J Archibald, Sally |
| author_sort | Archibald, Sally |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | The aquatic weeds on the Westlake wetland at Zandvlei (Cape Town, South Africa) were investigated in terms of their detrimental effects, and the biotic and abiotic conditions associated with their nuisance growth. Eichhornia crassipes was the most problematic of the weeds, both from a human perspective and in its effect on the system, and it appears to out-compete the initially more abundant Ceratophyllum demersum and Azolla filiculoides after disturbances such as clearing and flooding. Temperature, current strength and inter-species interactions were controlling the distribution and growth of the weeds on a seasonal scale, but over the long term it is likely that lower salinities, together with high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus, have caused the increased growth noticeable over the last fifteen years. The present management programme of annual mechanical clearance seems to be the most cost-efficient, ecosystem-friendly option but it is suggested that the possibility of increasing the salinity in the wetland be investigated as a way of slowing the regrowth of the weeds after clearance. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/24395 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:33:13.838Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publishDateRange | 2017 |
| publishDateSort | 2017 |
| publisher | Department of Biological Sciences |
| publisherStr | Department of Biological Sciences |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/24395 Investigating the Aquatic weeds on the Westlake Wetland: Detrimental effects and management options Archibald, Sally Bolton, John J Day, John A Botany The aquatic weeds on the Westlake wetland at Zandvlei (Cape Town, South Africa) were investigated in terms of their detrimental effects, and the biotic and abiotic conditions associated with their nuisance growth. Eichhornia crassipes was the most problematic of the weeds, both from a human perspective and in its effect on the system, and it appears to out-compete the initially more abundant Ceratophyllum demersum and Azolla filiculoides after disturbances such as clearing and flooding. Temperature, current strength and inter-species interactions were controlling the distribution and growth of the weeds on a seasonal scale, but over the long term it is likely that lower salinities, together with high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus, have caused the increased growth noticeable over the last fifteen years. The present management programme of annual mechanical clearance seems to be the most cost-efficient, ecosystem-friendly option but it is suggested that the possibility of increasing the salinity in the wetland be investigated as a way of slowing the regrowth of the weeds after clearance. 2017-05-24T07:08:50Z 2017-05-24T07:08:50Z 1998 Bachelor Thesis Honours BSc (Hons) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/24395 eng application/pdf Department of Biological Sciences Faculty of Science University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Botany Archibald, Sally Investigating the Aquatic weeds on the Westlake Wetland: Detrimental effects and management options |
| thesis_degree_str | Bachelor's / Honours |
| title | Investigating the Aquatic weeds on the Westlake Wetland: Detrimental effects and management options |
| title_full | Investigating the Aquatic weeds on the Westlake Wetland: Detrimental effects and management options |
| title_fullStr | Investigating the Aquatic weeds on the Westlake Wetland: Detrimental effects and management options |
| title_full_unstemmed | Investigating the Aquatic weeds on the Westlake Wetland: Detrimental effects and management options |
| title_short | Investigating the Aquatic weeds on the Westlake Wetland: Detrimental effects and management options |
| title_sort | investigating the aquatic weeds on the westlake wetland detrimental effects and management options |
| topic | Botany |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/24395 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT archibaldsally investigatingtheaquaticweedsonthewestlakewetlanddetrimentaleffectsandmanagementoptions |