BGY 4409

AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT &

CONSERVATION

Title: The Importance of Biodiversity of flora on the

Management of River Ecosystem.

Name: Amanina Nawwarah Binti Musa

Matric No: 190364

Lecturer’s Name: Prof. Madya Dr. Yap Chee Kong

1.0 INTRODUCTION

River ecosystems are flowing waters that drain the landscape, and consist of the biotic
(living) interactions amongst plants, animals and micro-organisms, as properly as abiotic
(nonliving) physical and chemical interactions of its many parts. River ecosystems
are phase of large watershed networks or catchments, the place smaller headwater streams drain
into mid-size streams, which gradually drain into large river networks. Rivers are vital habitat for
a massive style of animals and plants. Rivers play a vital role in connecting habitats, and their
value to plants and animals extends so much on the far side the surface space they cowl. This
habitat property role functions each between upstream and downstream areas, and by connecting
both sides of watercourse banks. This necessitates an approach to management that looks at the
river as a whole. River bank vegetation is ecologically termed as riparian flora, and is highly
dynamic. It links terrestrial and aquatic habitat, under the influence of waterways such as rill
banks or riverbank, is represented by an explicit kind of vegetation that grows on the edges of
rivers, which known as river’s bank zone (Dutta et al., 2011). Riparian vegetation consists of
macrophytes, native grasses, sedges, climbers, shrubs and trees (Dutta et al., 2011). Riparian
zones are significant in ecology and environmental management, because of their role in soil
conservation, their habitat biodiversity, and the influence they have on fauna and aquatic
ecosystems, including grassland, woodland, wetland or even nonvegetative. Buffer strips of
riparian vegetation are effective in reducing sediment and nutrient loads (Groffman et al., 1990;
Castelle et al., 1994). In the Himalayan region, riparian forests play a pivotal role in the life of
people, to fulfil their daily requirements like timber, fuel, fodder, medicine, fruits and other
purposes (Shyam, 2008). Water current plays a decisive role in dispersal of vegetative
propagates and in influencing the marginal vegetation. After the floods, new and more fertile
lands emerge, containing sprout luxuriant herbaceous vegetation. Some of these plants are
ecologically very important as they provide shelter to the aquatic animals for breeding and
spawning (Bilgrami, 1991).
2.0 EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF THE IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY OF
FLORA ON THE MANAGEMENT OF RIVER ECOSYSTEM.

2.1 SOCIAL ASPECT

River biodiversity is facing unprecedented levels of threat. Through the river bank, we
aim to raise awareness about these delicate ecosystems and raise the necessary funds to put more
river species on the map, leading to conservation action on the ground. The importance of river
species, ecosystems and services to human livelihoods and wellbeing is increasingly being
recognized, and the some NGOs works in a number of areas to provide the information to
support decisions for the protection of wetland species and livelihoods. To conserve and manage
river biodiversity, the NGOs work in conjunction with the other NGOs, regional scientists,
experts in freshwater biodiversity and policy makers. Freshwater Biodiversity Unit objectives are
to build expertise and capacity on freshwater biodiversity through the establishment of regional
networks and to determine key threatening processes and priority conservation actions in each
region and assess the priority requirements for freshwater biodiversity conservation. The
individual components of biodiversity—genes, species, and ecosystems—provide society with a
wide array of goods and services. Genes, species, and ecosystems of direct, indirect, or potential
use to humanity are often referred to as "biological resources" (McNeely and others 1990; Reid
and Miller 1989; Wood 1997). Examples that we use directly include the genes that plant
breeders use to develop new crop varieties; the species that we use for various foods, medicines,
and industrial products; and the ecosystems that provide services, such as water purification and
flood control. The components of biodiversity are interconnected. For example, genetic diversity
provides the basis of continuing adaptation to changing conditions, and continued crop
productivity rests on the diversity in crop species and on the variety of soil invertebrates and
microorganisms that maintain soil fertility. Similarly, a change in the composition and
abundance of the species that make up an ecosystem can alter the services that can be obtained
from the system. Plants and algae are important to freshwater biomes because they provide
oxygen through photosynthesis, and food for animals in this biome. In rivers, many plants have
special structures that keep them from being carried away by the water. Some aquatic plants have
strong roots that keep them anchored securely, while others have stems that bend easily with the
movement of the water. Certain mosses are able to cling to rocks. Plants that live in still waters
have different adaptations. Water lilies, algae, and duckweed float on the surface. Cattails and
reeds grow along the shoreline of many freshwater ecosystems.

2.2 ECONOMIC ASPECT

Our original remit was to look just at the issue of economic value, in example the kinds
of economic values that are generated by conservation activity but which may well not be
captured in the market place. The result of this `failure' to capture such economic values is a
distortion, a tilted playing field with the odds stacked against conservation and in favor of the
economic activities that destroy biological resources. In this study we concerned about the
biodiversity disappears and how its economic value might be captured by various institutional
mechanisms. Economic forces drive much of the extinction of the world's biological resources
and biological diversity; yet biodiversity has economic value. If the world's economies are
rationally organized, this suggests that biodiversity must have less economic value than the
economic activities giving rise to its loss. Other than that, we know that many biological
resources do have significant economic value. We also know that many of the destructive
activities themselves have very low economic value; therefore something is wrong with the way
actual economic decisions are made — for some reason they fail to `capture' the economic values
that can be identified; these `economic failures' lie at the heart of any explanation for the loss of
biological diversity. If we can address them, there is a chance of reducing biodiversity loss.
Besides, Plants are extremely important in the lives of people throughout the world. People
depend upon plants to satisfy such basic human needs as food, clothing, shelter, and health care.
These needs are growing rapidly because of a growing world population, increasing incomes,
and urbanization. Plants provide food directly, of course, and also feed livestock that is then
consumed itself. In addition, plants provide the raw materials for many types of pharmaceuticals,
such as Pistia stratiotes L. commonly known as water lettuce belongs to Araceae. It has been
used in various medicines for the treatment of eczema, leprosy, ulcers, piles, stomach disorder,
throat and mouth inflammation, a few to mention. Eichhornia crassipes (Waterhyacinth), an
aquatic perennial herb present throughout the world, has a myriad of metabolites. Extracts, as
well as pure compounds are olated from this plant, have been demonstrated to process
pharmacological activities.
2.3 ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECT

Plants are key regulators of ecosystem functions such as soil fertility and stability, water
availability, and pest control. Decisions concerning vegetation management on rangeland should
take these multiple considerations into account. The role of plants in the ecosystem is that they
form the largest visible part of an ecosystem. Often both the community and the ecosystem are
named for the dominant plant present-that is by virtue of their size or numbers modify and
control the environment. River and riparian vegetation are complex and dynamic systems
supporting high biodiversity (Chovanec et al. 2000). Despite this fact, they are among the
environments most disturbed and threatened by humans (Nilsson and Svedmark 2002). Likewise,
riparian vegetation plays a crucial role in reducing input of matter from the terrestrial to the
aquatic environment (Anbumozhi et al. 2005). Studies have shown that land uses affect not only
the rivers and streams but also the diversity of the riparian vegetation (Brookes, 1994). Flora
diversity can maintain ecological balance as flora generates and releases oxygen, which is
needed by the fauna for respiratory purposes. In return, the fauna produces and releases carbon
dioxide, which is needed by the flora for photosynthesis. It is a symbiotic kind of relationship.
After that, aesthetic value of the plant diversity at the river ecosystem such as Nymphaea
gigantea, many like spending time in outdoor settings such as forests, natural areas, parks and
other green spaces because of their aesthetic value. This aesthetic value is mainly contributed by
spread of flora and fauna. Lastly, plant biodiversity can treat pollution in the river ecosystem that
can affect the biodiversity of flora at certain places. Treatment systems using aquatic plants
consist of shallow reservoirs containing floating or submerged aquatic plants. The best studied
wastewater systems are those utilizing duckweed (Lemna minor). Generally, treatment systems
break into two types based on the dominant plant types. The first type uses floating plants which
are distinguished by their ability to meet their need for carbon dioxide and oxygen directly from
the atmosphere. Such plants derive their mineral needs from the water.
3.0 CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, the importance of biodiversity of flora on the Management of River

Ecosystem basically can affect the integration of environment, social and economy aspect as it
should be implemented. Biodiversity is commonly understood to include the number, variety and
variability of organisms living on Earth. We have become accustomed to having decisions of
protecting nature, or allowing economic development, being presented as an either/or choice.
However, as our knowledge of ecology has developed, so too has our realization that human
beings have a dependence on ecological systems. Human activity has always had an impact on
biodiversity, but in recent centuries this impact has intensified to a position where we are in
danger of undermining the primary functions of natural systems and to an extent that could
ultimately threaten our own future. Losses of biodiversity have resulted from the destruction of
natural habitats, over-exploitation of resources, pollution and changes in the composition of
ecosystems due, for example, to the accidental or deliberate introduction of non-native species.
Loss of biodiversity is our loss. The incentive to protect biodiversity does not simply arise from
benevolence towards the natural world. Rather, a high level of biodiversity also ensures that we
are supplied with the ‘ecosystem services’ that are essential to the sustainability of our standard
of living and to our survival. For water supply, it includes the filtering and purification of rivers
and lakes, including the decomposition of our own pollutants and waste. Crucially, our own
health depends on biodiversity, for example as a source of pharmaceutical raw materials, but also
in terms of the quality of the food that we eat, opportunities for physical exercise and resistance
to disease. The benefits extend to our well-being and quality of life.
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