Living with floating vegetation invasions
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Date
2021-01
Publication Type
Journal Article
ETH Bibliography
yes
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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.
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Publication status
published
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Editor
Book title
Journal / series
Volume
50
Pages / Article No.
125 - 137
Publisher
Springer
Event
Edition / version
Methods
Software
Geographic location
Date collected
Date created
Subject
Biological invasions; Dams; Google earth engine; Land cover change; Urbanization; Water-energy-food nexus
Organisational unit
03723 - Ghazoul, Jaboury / Ghazoul, Jaboury
03473 - Burlando, Paolo (emeritus) / Burlando, Paolo (emeritus)
03328 - Wehrli, Bernhard (emeritus) / Wehrli, Bernhard (emeritus)
02350 - Dep. Umweltsystemwissenschaften / Dep. of Environmental Systems Science
Notes
Funding
690268 - Use of a Decision-Analytic Framework to explore the water-energy-food NExus in complex and trans-boundary water resources systems of fast growing developing countries. (SBFI)
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