ARM-221; CHAPTER-9

Department of Aquatic Resource Management

Faculty of Fisheries
Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet-3100

Course Title: Biological Limnology (Theoretical)

Course Code: ARM 221
Level-2; Semester-2
Chapter 9: Aquatic Vascular Plants

Nishat Tasnim
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Aquatic Resource Management, SAU
1
 ARM-221; CHAPTER-9

AQUATIC VASCULAR PLANTS

DEFINITION:
Aquatic vascular plants may be designated variously as aquatic higher plants or larger aquatic
plants or higher hydrophytes. Those aquatic plants which have vascular system are called aquatic
vascular plants. These vascular plants have vascular systems, i.e. conducting tissues (xylem and
phloem) for transporting essential materials throughout the plant body. Water and nutrients
collected by roots are conducted and supplied to leaves through xylem for primary production.
Food substances produced in the leaves through primary production are carried to different parts
of plant body through phloem. Division Tracheophyte includes vascular plants. A small group of
tracheophytes comprises aquatic vascular plants.

MAJOR GROUPS AVAILABLE IN FRESHWATERS

Higher aquatic plants are mainly of four kinds: (1) emergent, (2) floating, (3) submerged, and
spreading.
(1) Emergent: Those plants which have roots in the bottom and some portions have emerged above
the water surface. Their body is somewhat stout than other aquatic hydrophytes to make them
emerge straight out of the water surface and to hold this position. Example - Po1yonums indicus
(smart weed, Biskatali), Leersia hexandra (Arail1).
(2) Floating: They are of two types, such as (a) true floating plants and (b) rooted plants with
floating leaves.
(a)True floating plants float freely on the water surface as their roots hangs free just below
the water surface, i.e. roots are not anchored in the soil. As these types of plants are free, those
floats away one place to another with the movement of water. Examples - Lemna minor
(duckweed, khudipana), Woiffia arrhiza (watermeal, edurkani pana), Eichhornia crassipes (water
hyacinth, kachuri pana), Azolla pinnata (water velvet, kutipana), Pistia stratiotes (water lettuce,
topa pana).
(b)Rooted plants with floating leaves have roots in the bottom soil, stems are very long and
thus leaves floating on the water surface. These plants are not free floating. Examples - white
water-lily or pond-lily, shapla), Nymphaea nouchali (white water-lily, shapla), red water-lily, lal
shapla), Nymphaea stellata (blue water-lily, nil komol), Nelumbo nucifera (lotus, padmo), Nuphar
lutea (yellow water lily), Marsilea quadrifolia (susni sak) etc.

(3) Submerged aquatic plants: They are rooted in the bottom and the other parts of the body remain
completely submerged in water. Examples - Najas (bushy pond weed), Potamogeton (pond weed),
Vallisneria (eel grass) etc.

(4) Spreading aquatic plants: They are rooted on the dyke very near to the water surface in the
upper part of the littoral zone and the stems with leaves creeps in the water towards the centre of
the waterbody. As the stems of the plants are tubelike and the hollow of the tubes contain air, they
float on the water. Examples- Helencha, malancha etc.

Nishat Tasnim
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Aquatic Resource Management, SAU
2
 ARM-221; CHAPTER-9

Aquatic vascular plants are not always harmful. These plants are also called aquatic weeds only
when they are considered as undesirable. Usually when these aquatic vascular plants show
vigorous growth in waterbodies and create problems, then they are considered as weeds.

They have harmful as well as beneficial effects on aquaculture. Free floating aquatic higher plants
are very harmful if luxuriant growth prevails in a pond. Submerged aquatic plants are also harmful
if they grow excessively and extensively. Rooted emergent hydrophytes become helpful to
increase aquatic biological productivity if they remain in small quantity and under controlled
condition. The harmful hydrophytes may sometimes become beneficial under controlled condition.

Classification of aquatic vascular plants

In a general way, aquatic plants can be grouped into these assemblages-
1. Emergent – those rooted at the bottom and projecting out of the water for part of their
length.
2. Floating – those which wholly or impart float on the surface of the water and often do not
project above it.
3. Submerged – those which are continuously submerged (except sometimes for floating or
emergent inflorescences)
4. Spreading

Biological classification of the larger aquatic plants:

1. Plants rooted in the bottom
a. Plants which are essentially terrestrial but capable of living, at least temporarily, as
submerged water plants.
b. Plants sometimes terrestrial, sometimes with submerged leaves markedly different
from aerial type; aerial leaves associated with floating stage.
c. Plants which produce three types of leaf:
i. Submerged.
ii. Floating.
iii. Aerial.
d. Plants which in certain instance, may occur as land forms, but are normally submerged
and characterized by a creeping axis bearing long, branching leafy shoots with no
floating leaves or by a plexus of leafy, rooting shoots without a creeping rhizome.
i. Leafy aerial shoots produced at the following period.
E.g., Myriophyllum.
ii. Inflorescence raised out of the water, but no aerial foliage leaves except in the
land forms. E.g., Many potamogetons pond weed.
iii. Inflorescence submerged, but essential organ raised to the surface.
iv. Inflorescence entirely submerged and pollination occurs below the surface of
the water. e.g., Najas.
e. Plants which, in some instances, may occur as land forms but which are very commonly
submerged and are characterized by an abbreviated axis from which linear leaves arise.
f. Plants which are entirely submerged as regards the vegetative organs and which are a
thallus attached to the substratum. The flowers are aerial.
Nishat Tasnim
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Aquatic Resource Management, SAU
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 ARM-221; CHAPTER-9

2. Plants which are not rooted in the bottom but unattached in the water.
a. Plants with floating leaves or leaf-life shoots. Flowers raised in the air.
i. Roots not penetrating the bottom. E.g., Duck-weed.
ii. Rootless. E.g., Wolffia.
b. Plants entirely or partially submerged.
i. Rooted but roots not penetrating the bottom.
ii. Rootless
 Inflorescence raised out of the water.
 Flowers submerged.

One of the most noticeable features of the larger aquatic plant is the distinct tendency to be
arranged in more or less parallel zones along the margins of lakes, ponds, and similar bodies of
water. A transect of a lake possessing this typical zonation shows the following sequence.

1. Zone of emergent hydrophytes:

This is the zone of those plants which are rooted in the bottom, submerged at their basal portions
and elevated into the air at the tops. It constitutes the shoreward zone, extending from near the
edge of the water lake ward to depths which vary with circumstances but roughly about 2m. These
hydrophytes all have one feature in common. Viz., the elevation of principal chlorophyll-bearing
portion above water, the submerged portions usually showing less chlorophyll development.

2. Zone of floating hydrophytes:

This zone typically occurs next beyond the emergent zone and is composed of plants which are
rooted to the bottom but float their foliage upon the surface of the water. The depths occupied vary
somewhat but are usually about 10 to 2.5m.

3. Zone of submerged hydrophytes:

Typically, this zone occupies the deeper water beyond the zone of floating plants, extending
downward to depths which vary with conditions but in average water do not exceed 6m.

Nishat Tasnim
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Aquatic Resource Management, SAU
4
 ARM-221; CHAPTER-9

Fig. Zonation of aquatic vascular plants in inland waters

Control
Control of aquatic weeds can be subdivided into four general categories: (1) prevention, (2)
mechanical and physical, (3) biological, and (4) herbicides. Often a combination of these practices
is necessary for adequate control.

(1) Prevention
Effective planning and aquatic system management often eliminates, or greatly reduces, the need
for costly and time-consuming weed-control practices. If aquatic weeds are controlled when they
remain very few in amount, it will prevent their excessive growth. Aquatic weed problems
typically occur in clear, shallow water that is high in nutrients. Ponds or lakes should be
constructed so that shallow water areas are minimized by shaping the sides with a 3 to 1 slope (3
feet horizontal to 1-foot vertical drop) down to a depth of at least 3 feet. Existing ponds or lakes
that have extensive shallow water areas can be dredged deeper, but a less expensive practice is to
use a bulldozer to deepen shallow areas after the water level has receded below these areas.
Excessive nutrients should be prevented from getting into the water since they will stimulate rapid
plant growth. Common sources of nutrients are runoff from livestock holding areas, septic tank
drainage, and heavily fertilized fields.

(2) Mechanical and Physical

Mechanical and physical control methods will be more effective in smaller bodies of water than in
larger ones. Pulling marginal plants by hand is an effective reduction practice to control cattails,
willows, and cottonwood trees in small ponds. Small amounts of submerged plants can be pulled
out or raked by hand. Larger amounts can be removed by pulling a long chain or cable across a
pond between two tractors.

Nishat Tasnim
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Aquatic Resource Management, SAU
5
 ARM-221; CHAPTER-9

A device that is effective on submersed vegetation is a hand-pulled cutter, consisting of a “V”

shaped flat metal piece sharpened on the outer edge. A rod is fastened to the point and a rope
attached to this. The device is thrown out into the vegetation and pulled in with a jerking motion.
This cuts off the vegetation so it can float to shore where it can be raked out.

Submersed vegetation can also be controlled by shading it with fine meshed dark plastic screen
similar to the type used to shade greenhouses. A large section of this material is placed over the
vegetation and weighted down with rocks. This compress and shades the vegetation so it dies.
After about 2 weeks, the screen can be moved to another area. The advantage of this method is
that fishing, swimming, and boating can take place over the screen. Vigorous phytoplankton bloom
can also be attained by overdosing of Urea fertilizer to get the same effect.

Various types of weed harvesters have been used, including a cutting device on a floating barge.
As the weeds are cut, they are brought up on a conveyor and deposited on the barge. Devices such
as these are expensive and disposal of the wet, heavy plant material is a problem.

All mechanical and physical control methods are labor intensive and give only short-term relief.
They work best on small bodies of water that can be observed closely so control can take place
before the problem gets too large. But the weed harvester can be used in large waterbodies like
lake, channels etc. These methods are especially effective in-home sewage lagoons. For more
effective control, use mechanical and physical control practices in conjunction with biological or
chemical control methods.

(3) Biological
Herbivorous fish, the grass carp, sometimes called the white amur (Ctenopharyngodon idella),
is an effective biological method to control aquatic vegetation when they are juvenile and adult.
They prefer some plants over others, but consume many species of floating and submerged plants.
They pull out and eat some of the emerged plants, but will not be able to control them. They have
voracious appetites and grow rapidly until the plants are controlled and then their growth levels
off.
Stocking new, clear ponds and lakes at three to five grass carp per acre can prevent development
of aquatic weed problems. Grass carp need to be at least 10 to 12 inches long to avoid predation if
predatory fish such as bass are in the pond or lake. The initial stocking should be effective for at
least several years since these is long-lived fish. A few replacement fish can be stocked if aquatic
weed infestation increases.

Nishat Tasnim
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Aquatic Resource Management, SAU
6
 ARM-221; CHAPTER-9

Only a few problems are associated with grass carp. They do not reproduce in standing water nor
do they seem to compete or interfere with the game fish. They may, however, cause some loss of
clarity of the water. Clear weedy ponds when stocked with grass carp become less clear. As the
grass carp eat the vegetation, the nutrients are excreted through wastes. These in turn stimulate the
production of planktonic algae, which decrease the clarity. Grass carp are indiscriminate feeders
and can get so large that they consume most of the desirable vegetation in a pond and greatly
reduce fish productivity.
Grass carp are highly mobile and they will readily leave a pond or lake during periods of heavy
flow over the spillway. Use of mesh fence across the spillway can prevent loss of these fish.

Fertilizers added to water have been used to control aquatic weeds. Fertilizers stimulate the
growth of planktonic algae, which in turn decreases the water clarity, and thus prevents growth of
submersed vegetation. Although it appears to be a good practice, it usually creates other problems.
Additional nutrients may cause an increase of marginal vegetation and also filamentous algae.
Increased infestation of algae and other vegetation may cause oxygen depletion as the plants die
and decay.

Waterfowl have also been used to control aquatic plants. Ducks, geese, and swans will eat aquatic
vegetation. Large number of waterfowls needed for control of submersed and marginal plants
results in a large amount of wastes, which fertilize the water. This often results in algae problems.

Barley straw has been used by researchers in the United Kingdom to control a variety of
planktonic and filamentous algae. Results in the United States are not consistent, but show that the
decomposing straw must be subjected to well-oxygenated water for it to become anti-algal. The
best control is obtained by suspending barley straw bales that have been broken apart and
suspended in cages near the water surface. Use about 100 to 300 pounds of straw per acre but be
aware that most waters in the Midwest are typically stagnant and oxygen-poor.

(4) Herbicides
Herbicides may be used to control aquatic weeds. Control of aquatic weeds by herbicides usually
varies due to the following factors:
 Susceptibility of the aquatic weeds to the herbicide,
 Stage of growth,
 Rate of application; and
 The time of application.

Herbicides are frequently the preferred method for control of aquatic weeds in situations requiring
fast results and control for several months. However, even chemical methods frequently must be
combined with hand or mechanical weeding to remove remaining weeds and to prevent future
spread by seed or other plant parts.

Most herbicides have a low acute oral toxicity, but a few aquatic herbicides are poisonous to human
beings, livestock, and other nontarget organisms. Some herbicides are toxic to fish, but most do
not injure fish at concentrations required for weed control.
Nishat Tasnim
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Aquatic Resource Management, SAU
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 ARM-221; CHAPTER-9

Copper Sulfate
Copper sulfate controls microscopic algae, single-filament algae, and Chara (stonewort), but is not
effective against submerged or emerged leafy weeds. In alkaline water, stronger concentrations
may be necessary. Crystals may be scattered by hand on the surface of small ponds or placed in a
burlap bag and towed behind a boat. Crystals or powder can be dissolved in water and applied by
spraying the water surface. One may treat an isolated mass of stonewort or algae without treating
the whole pond. Residual copper is toxic to many aquatic animals. Frequent and continued use
may result in the kill of a large part of the fish food supply.
Diquat
Diquat will control the following submersed weeds infesting still ponds, lakes and ditches:
bladderwort, coontail, elodea, naiad, pondweeds, and watermilfoil. Other aquatic weeds controlled
include duckweed, cattails, and some filamentous algae.
Endothall
Aquathol and Hydrothol are different formulations of endothall and are both available as granular
or liquid formulations. Hydrothol controls most algae and submersed plants, but is toxic to fish at
dosages in excess of 0.3 ppm. Aquathol controls most submersed plants and are not toxic to fish,
but do not control algae. Apply in late spring or early summer when weeds are actively growing.

IMPORTANCE OF CONTROLLING AQUATIC VASCULAR PLANTS AND WEEDS

Aquatic weeds demand controlling themselves to get rid of the following problems that usually
occurs from their heavy growth:
1. Vigorous growth of aquatic weeds can create dense mats which can block the pathways of
vessels and vehicles in the waterways in the lakes, rivers, creeks, beels etc. it also creates problems
in swimming, boating competition also.
2. Heavy growth of aquatic hydrophytes can consume much of the nutrients of an ecosystem which
results in poor production of phytoplankton which eventually leads to poor secondary production.
Additionally, it may prevent sunlight penetrating the water which also causes to decrease the
phytoplankton production.
3. Dense growth of aquatic hydrophytes can hinder the easy locomotion of most of the aquatic
animals, especially fishes.
4. Higher growth of aquatic weeds can support higher number of various predators of fishes by
giving them shelter.
5. Creates problem in angling, angling competition, fishing etc.
6. It also decreases the aesthetic view of a waterbody hindering the tourism
7. Small waterbodies with higher number of aquatic hydrophytes possess the probability of being
derelict from the higher amount of humus produced form dead plants.

Nishat Tasnim
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Aquatic Resource Management, SAU
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 ARM-221; CHAPTER-9

8. Higher amount aquatic weeds can block the sluice gates, dams, barrages, hydro-electric power
plants.

Uses of aquatic vascular plants

The presence and relative abundance of diverse aquatic vegetation beneficially increase the habitat
complexity of aquatic ecosystems. They provide refuge for prey species and young predator
species, and plants specifically provide habitat for the invertebrates that are food for many fish. As
the lake becomes filled with intermediate levels of vegetation, (1) habitat becomes more complex,
(2) invertebrate densities increase, (3) vegetation-oriented prey and young predator fish find better
refuge from predators, and (4) recruitment becomes sufficient to reach the fish population carrying
capacity of the lake. At high levels of vegetation, especially dense monocultures formed by
invasive aquatic species, it is more difficult for fish predators to forage because of visual barriers.
This causes slower fish growth, favors smaller sized fish, and can reduce numbers of larger
harvestable fish, all of which result in poor quality sport fishing.

 Rooted aquatic plants may prevent shoreline erosion by stabilizing the sediment and
dampening wave action and help to stabilize the shoreline.
 Fish feed- such as khudipana, kutipana, idurkanipana, topapana as food of grasscarp,
silvercarp.
 Ingredients of processed fish feed- in feed formulation
 Cattle feed- such as water hyacinth as feed of cows, buffaloes etc.
 Human feed
o Leaf as vegetables- helencha, malancha, panikachu
o Tuber as source of carbohydrate- lotus,
o Stem as vegetables- lotus, helencha
o Seeds and fruits- lotus, pani singara
 Medicinal plants- Bishkatali
 cottage industry- mats, baskets, purses
 Water gardening to increase aesthetic view- as found in Boldha Garden, lake in front of
National Parliament of Bangladesh, water garden in the Botanical garden of BAU etc.
 Aquarium plants- Hydrilla
 To create shade in parts of a nursery ponds of low depth- spreading and freely floating aquatic
plants
 For fish breeding; e.g. egg shredding substrate for common carps and many SIS like sharpunti,
punti etc.
 Hiding places for the hatchlings and fingerlings of fishes to protect themselves from predators
 Mulching
 Composting and as soil additives
 Pulp, paper and fibre
 Energy as fuel
 Thatching and mat making
 Protection against wave action, erosion and storm action
 To make kathha,
Nishat Tasnim
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Aquatic Resource Management, SAU
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 ARM-221; CHAPTER-9

 In paper and pulp mill and lime burning

 Wastewater treatment using aquatic hydrophytes
 Biofertilizer. E.g. Kachuripana is used to make compost especially in north-east Bangladesh
 Used in hydroponics to make floating platforms to grow seedlings and vegetables
 In bio gas plants
 Crop production from floating rice (Oryza sativa), wild rice (Zizania aquatica).
 Aquatic weeds are used to treat wastewater safely in constructed wetlands without use of
chemicals.
 In Indian Subcontinent various aquatic flowers, especially lotus is related to many religious
festivals.
 Other uses- floating of fishing rods, traditional boats made of reeds.

Nishat Tasnim
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Aquatic Resource Management, SAU
10