WATERHYACINTH

Waterhyacinth(EichhorniaCrassipes)isanaquaticplantwhichcanliveandreproducefloatingfreelyonthe surfaceoffreshwatersoranchoredinmud.Theplantisaperennialaquaticherbwhichiscloselyrelatedtothe Liliaceae(lily)family.Thematureplantconsistsoflong,pendantroots,rhizomes,stolons,leaves,flowers,and fruitclusters.Theflowerseachhave610lilylikeflowers.Thestemandleavescontainairfilledtissuewhich givetheplantsitsconsiderablebuoyancy.Plantsizerangesfromafewinchestoameterinheight.Itsrateof proliferationundercertaincircumstancesisextremelyrapidandcauseinfestationsoverlargeareasofwater leadingtoavarietyofproblems.Matscandoubleinsizeinaslittleas618days. TheplantoriginatedintheAmazonBasinandwasintroducedintomanypartsoftheworldasanornamental gardenpondplantduetoitsbeauty.Ithasproliferatedintropicalandsubtropicalclimatesparticularlyinareas ofthesouthernUSA,SouthAmerica,SoutheastAsiaandAustralia.Infact,itcanbefoundonallcontinents exceptEurope.Itsrangeislimitedbyseverecold.Itsspreadthroughouttheworldhastakenplaceoverthelast 100yearsorso,althoughtheactualcourseofitsspreadispoorlydocumented.Inthelast10years,therapid spreadoftheplantinmanypartsofAfricahasledtogreatconcern. Waterhyacinthsthriveinenvironmentsinwhichnutrientsfromfertilizersorothereffluentrunintothestreams. Impedingwaterflowalsoencouragesrapidgrowthofthisplant.Seedscanremaindormantandbecomeactive forupto15years.Additionallynewplantscangrowfromtheextensiverootsystem.

THEPROBLEM
Becauseofitsrapidproliferationwhichresultsinamatlikecoverageoffreshwaterways,waterhyacinthscause thefollowingproblems: Hindrancetowatertransport:Accesstoharborsanddockingareascanbeseriouslyhinderedbymatsofwater hyacinth.Canalsandfreshwaterriverscanbecomeimpassableastheyclogupwithdenselyintertwinedcarpets

oftheweed.ItisalsobecomingaserioushazardtolaketransportsuchasLakeVictoriainAfrica.Manyinland waterwaysinSoutheastAsiahavebeenabandonedbecausewaterhyacinthmatsaresodense. Cloggingintakesofirrigation,hydropowerandwatersupplysystems:OwenFallshydropowerschemeatJinja onLakeVictoriaisavictimoftheweedsrapidreproductiveratesandanincreasingamountoftimeandmoney hastobeinvestedinclearingthisweedtopreventfromenteringanddeminingtheturbine.Waterhyacinthis nowamajorprobleminsomeoftheworldsmajordams.Theseblockagescausepoweroutages,flooding,and equipmentdamage. Increaseddiseaseinthehabitat:Malaria,waterborneparasitessuchasschistosomiasis,andotherwaterborne diseasesincreaseasthewaterhyacinthsprovidehavensformosquitoesandstagnantwater. Increasedevaporationandtranspirationofwater:Waterhyacinthsincreasetheamountofwaterthat evaporatesfromawaterwayorlake.Ithasbeendiscoveredthatwaterlosscanbeasmuchas1.8timesthatof evaporationfromwaterwaysfreeoftheseplants.Thisisimportantforareaswherewaterisalreadyscarce.For example,itisestimatedthattheflowofwaterintheNilecouldbereducedbyuptoonetenthduetoincreased lossesofwaterinLakeVictoria. Lossoffishingopportunities:Accesstositesbecomesdifficultwhenweedinfestationispresent.Fishermen alsoloseequipmentwhenlinesornetsbecometangledintheweedsrootsystem.Fishpopulationsdecreaseas waterbeginstoloseoxygenandsunlightwhilepopulationsofcrocodilesandsnakesincrease.Inareaswhere fishermenarebarelyabletosustainthemselvesfromthisindustry,thisisaneconomicdisaster. Reducedbiodiversity:Whenwaterhyacinththrives,itoutcompetesotheraquaticplants.Thiscausesan imbalanceinthemicroecosystemresultinginreducedfloraandthefaunathatdependonit.Localizedwater qualityalsodeteriorateswhichmaybeharmfultopeoplewhorelyonthewaterwayfordrinkingwater. Althoughwaterhyacinthisseeninmanycountriesasaweedandresponsibleformanyproblems,somehave attemptedtoturntheproblemaroundandfindusefulapplicationsfortheseplants.Theplantis95%waterbut alsohasfibroustissue,highproteincontent,andhighenergypotential.Thefollowingusesforthisplantare beingexplored: Paper:TheMennoniteCentralCommitteeofBangladeshhasbeenexperimentingwithpaperproductionfrom waterhyacinthforsomeyears.Theyhaveestablishedtwoprojectsthatmakepaperfromthewaterhyacinth stems.Thewaterhyacinthfiberalonedoesnotmakeparticularlygoodpaperbutwhenthefiberisblendedwith wastepaperorjute,theresultisagoodqualitypaper.Theequipmenttoproducingthepulpissophisticated andexpensive,however. Fiberboard:Anotherwaypeoplehavefoundtousewaterhyacinthistomakefiberboards.TheHouseand BuildingResearchInstituteinDhakahasdevelopedafiberboardthathasgeneralpurposeusessuchaslowcost roofing.Theprocesshasmanystepsandislaborintensive.Researchiscontinuinginwaystomaketheproduct moreefficiently. Yarnandrope:Thefiberfromthestemsofthewaterhyacinthplantcanbeusedtomakerope.Thestalkof theplantisshreddedlengthwaystoexposethefibersandthenlefttodryforseveraldays.Theropemaking

processissimilartothatofjuterope.Thefinishedropeistreatedwithspecialchemicalstopreventitfrom rotting.InBangladesh,theropeisusedbylocalfurnituremanufacturerstofinishcanefurniture. Basketwork:InthePhilippinesandIndia,waterhyacinthisdriedandusedtomakebasketsandmattingfor homesandthelocaltouristtrade.Caremustbetakentoensurethattheplantisverydrybeforemakingthese baskets,however,ortheywillrotquickly. Biogasproduction:Conversionofotherorganicmaterial,suchasanimalorhumanwaste,iswellestablishedin smallormediumscaletechnology.Thisprocessisoneofanaerobicdigestionwhichtakesplaceinareactoror digester,anairtightcontainerusuallybelowground,andresultsinusablemethanegasthatcanbeburnedfrom cookingorgeneratingelectricity.Thisresiduefromthedigestionprocessprovidesarichfertilizer.Ithasbeen proposedthatwaterhyacinthcanbeharvestedforthisprocess.Theuseofwaterhyacinthforthispresents someproblems,however.Ithasaveryhighwatercontentandharvestsyieldlowactualamountsoforganic materialforconversiontobiogas.Theaircapturedintheplantwouldhavetobetakenoutthroughchoppingto promotebetterdigestion. Waterpurification:Ifthegrowthcanbecontainedinspecifiedareasandwaterallowedtopassthroughthe waterhyacinthculture,purewatercanbeobtained.Waterhyacinthshavebeenusedtopretreatwaterbefore itentersthepurificationplants.Therootstructuresofwaterhyacinth,andotheraquaticplants,providea suitableenvironmentforaerobicbacteriatofunction.Aerobicbacteriafeedonnutrientsandproduceinorganic compoundswhichfeedthewaterhyacinth.Waterhyacinthsalsoremoveeffluent,heavymetals,organic compoundsandpathogens. Fertilizers:Waterhyacinthcanbeuseddirectlyfromharvestingordriedtobeusedtomixwiththesoiloras mulch.Itbreaksdownquicklyandcanbemixedwithash,othersoilsandsomeanimalmanuretoincreasesoil fertilityandcropyield.Suchcompostproductioniseconomicallysuitedtoareasoffewresourcesbuthigh laborpotential.Itdoesnottakemuchcapitaltoproducelargequantitiesofuseablefertilizerinareaswithpoor soil. Fishfeed:TheChinesegrasscarp,tilapia,silvercarpandthesilverdollarfishallconsumeaquaticweeds,suchas waterhyacinth.Themanateeorseacowhasalsobeensuggestedasanotherherbivorewhichcouldbeusedfor weedcontrol. Despiteallthewaysthisplantcanbeused,waterhyacinthcontinuestobeaproblemaroundtheworldandnew waystocontrolithavebeenextensivelyexplored.Currentlythefollowingwaysaremostoftenusedtocontrol waterhyacinth: Mechanicalharvestorsremovewaterhyacinthfromthewaterandtransportittoshore.Choppingmachines thengrindtheplantintobitsandspraytheslurryacrossthewater Twowaterhyacinthweevilsandsomespeciesoffishhavebeenusedtowaterhyacinth Registeredaquaticherbicidesprovidetemporarycontrolofwaterhyacinth Noonemethodhasproventototallyeradicatethewaterhyacinth,however.

MECHANICALCONTROL (removingthewaterhyacinthusingmachines) *thisisthebestshorttermsolution *mostsuitableforrelativelysmallareas *sincewaterhyacinthfloats,itispossibletoscoopthe plantoutofthewaterwithoutdisturbingthesediment ofreducingwaterclarity. Drawbackstobiologicalcontrol: *ittakesalongtimeforthepredatorspeciestoread populationdensitysufficienttotackletheproblem *insomecases,thepredatorspecieswasonlyableto reduceplantheightornumberofseedsproduced;it didnoteradicatetheplant *notallpredatorspeciesareabletosurviveinthenew habitat *thereisadangerthatthepredatorspecieswill negativelyimpactnativespecies NOCONTROL *itisbettertocontrolthesituationsthatallowthe waterhyacinthtoreproduceorflourish;reducethe numberofnutrientsthatenterthewater *attemptingtocontrolthisplantisexpensive;itis estimatedthateventhemostsimplesolutionscould costover7milliondollars;dowehavethatkindof money? *theplantisonlypresentbecausetheecosystemis alreadycompromised *waterhyacinthshavemanyuses;weshouldexplore thoseoptionsinstead Drawbacktobiologicalcontrol *ittakesalongtimeforthepredatorspeciestoreach populationdensitysufficienttotackletheproblemand couldcausemoreproblemsfortheecosystem Drawbacktomechanicalcontrol *verycostlybecauseitrequiresalargefleetofspecial equipmentandnotallwaterwaysareaccessible Drawbacktochemicalcontrol *aftertheherbicideisused,thedecayingplantswill depletethewaterofoxygenmakingitunusablefor aquaticwildlife;anychemicalremediationmustalso includemechanicalremoval

CHEMICALCONTROL (usingherbicidestokillthewaterhyacinth) *thecommonherbicidesusedhavebeenfoundtobe verysafewithusedasdirectedandappliedbycertified personnel *herbicidescanbeappliedfromthegroundortheair andarelessexpensivethansomeothercontrols *thistypeofcontroliscloselymonitoredbymany governmentagenciestoinsuresafeconditionsexist afterapplication. Drawbackstomechanicalcontrol: *verycostlybecauseitrequiresalargefleetofwater and/orlandbasedmachinerythatcantransportlarge quantitiesofveryheavyplantmaterial(becauseits mostlywater,waterhyacinthsareveryheavy) *thistypeofcontrolcannotkeeppacewiththerapid plantgrowthinlargewatersystems

BIOLOGICALCONTROL (usingpredatoryplantsandanimalstocontrolthe waterhyacinth) Thereareavarietyofweevils,moths,andfungithat havebeenidentifiedaspossiblebiologicalcontrols: *recentresearchhasfoundthatgeesewilleatwater hyacinthataratethatmakescontrolpossible *thisisthemostfavoredformoflongtermcontrol becauseitiseconomicalandsustainable *thesetendtobeselfregulatingbecausewhenthe hostdiesout,sodoesthenaturalenemy *thisisthemosteconomicalmethodofcontrolling waterhyacinth Drawbackstochemicalcontrol *themainconcerniswhentheherbicidesareused wherepeoplecollectwaterfordrinkingandwashing; directcontactisworrisome *thelongtermeffectsofusingtheseherbicidesisstill unknown *aftertheherbicideisused,thedecayingplantswill depletethewaterofoxygenmakingitunusablefor aquaticwildlife;anychemicalremediationmustalso includemechanicalremoval

POWEROFPERSUASION
Hereareafewtipstohelppersuadeotherstoseeyourpointofview. Organizeyourthoughtsandconceptslogically. Youmaywanttojotonanotecardyourmajorpointsinorderofprioritysoyoudontforget them. Startwithanattentiongrabber. Openwithapowerfulstatementtograbtheattentionofyouraudience. Clearlyexplainyourpointofview. Givespecificexamples,ifyoucan,toillustrateyourpoint. Beconcise. Keepitshortandsimple!Shortspeechesareusuallymorepowerfulandmemorablethan longerones. Makeeyecontact. Eyecontactshowsthatyouaresincereaboutyourtopicandthatyouacknowledgeyour audience. Speakslowly. Mostpeopletendtorushwhentheytalkbeforeagroup.Speakslowlyandloudlyenoughso everyonecaneasilyhearyou. Usevisuals. Youmaywanttohighlightmajorpointsbywritingthemonachalkboard,easelpad,or handout;showingslides,aposter,orotherpictureswillhelppeoplerememberimportantpoints. Reinforceyourpositionandargument. Afteryouintroduceyourpositionandargument,youshouldarticulateyourposition,then concludebyreiteratingthemajorpointsofyourargument.

1993AmericanForestFoundation ProjectLearningTree StudentpageforTheChangingForest:ForestEcology