Chin J Plant Ecol ›› 2014, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (10): 1093-1098.DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1258.2014.00103

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Changes of the dike-pond agricultural pattern and water hyacinth invasion in southern China

ZHOU Qing1, PAN Xiao-Yun2,*()   

  1. 1Guangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Geographic Information Technology and Its Application, Guangzhou 510070, China
    2Institute of Biodiversity Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
  • Received:2014-06-19 Accepted:2014-09-07 Online:2014-06-19 Published:2021-04-20
  • Contact: PAN Xiao-Yun

Abstract:

Aims In order to explore the main reasons and the invasive processes of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) in the dike-pond district in southern China, we reviewed and comprehensively analysed the historical documents and files on the water hyacinth concerning the latest research progress on its invasion ecology.
Methods We obtained the data through searches and reviews of relevant historical documents and files.
Important findings We found that water hyacinth invaded water networks and channels of the Hangzhou- Jiaxing-Huzhou plain from 1911, and was a common aquatic plant in the Pearl River Delta region since 1911. The dike-pond system was a typical organic cycling farming system in the two regions between 1911 and 1980, when farmers generally used water hyacinth as organic fertilizer. Although local government extended cultivation techniques for water hyacinth from the late 1950s to the 1980s and farmers increased water hyacinth production in large scales, the species was still contained. However, the dike-pond ecological farming systems between the Changjiang River Delta and the Zhujiang River Delta were widely abandoned because of the rapid urbanization and industrialization, and the water environments of the wetlands deteriorated since 1980. These are the main reasons for the situation of aggressive water hyacinth invasion in southern China.

Key words: biological invasion, Eichhornia crassipes, Hangzhou-Jiaxing-Huzhou plain, mulberry dike-pond, Zhujiang River Delta, wetlands