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Fighting the world's worst aquatic weed - A comparison of management methods for Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) in Australia and South Africa

Edqvist, Sofie LU (2014) MVEK02 20141
Studies in Environmental Science
Abstract
The Water hyacinth is one of the worst aquatic weeds in the world and it is today present on all continents except Antarctica. It causes big problems for both people and the aquatic ecosystems in many countries. A lot of research has been completed to find methods to eradicate the weed and a lot of money has been spent on management to keep waters clean. In this literature study on management methods for the Water hyacinth in Australia and South Africa, the differences and similarities in the control methods between the two countries are compared. The control methods studied are biological, chemical and physical methods. Also costs for the different methods and management sites are considered. Five different management sites are... (More)
The Water hyacinth is one of the worst aquatic weeds in the world and it is today present on all continents except Antarctica. It causes big problems for both people and the aquatic ecosystems in many countries. A lot of research has been completed to find methods to eradicate the weed and a lot of money has been spent on management to keep waters clean. In this literature study on management methods for the Water hyacinth in Australia and South Africa, the differences and similarities in the control methods between the two countries are compared. The control methods studied are biological, chemical and physical methods. Also costs for the different methods and management sites are considered. Five different management sites are investigated; three are located in South Africa and two in Australia. The biological control methods implemented in the two countries are similar and reasons for that could be international cooperation efforts. Chemical control methods are used in both countries but no further conclusions can be drawn. Differences can be found in the physical methods implemented, where expensive mechanical methods are more common in Australia and cheaper, manual methods are used in South Africa. Invasive species management is a complex matter and the best methods implemented are site specific, where social, environmental and economic factors are considered. (Less)
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author
Edqvist, Sofie LU
supervisor
organization
course
MVEK02 20141
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes, aquatic weed, invasive species, environmental management, weed control methods
language
English
id
4465335
date added to LUP
2014-06-30 16:14:11
date last changed
2014-06-30 16:14:11
@misc{4465335,
  abstract     = {{The Water hyacinth is one of the worst aquatic weeds in the world and it is today present on all continents except Antarctica. It causes big problems for both people and the aquatic ecosystems in many countries. A lot of research has been completed to find methods to eradicate the weed and a lot of money has been spent on management to keep waters clean. In this literature study on management methods for the Water hyacinth in Australia and South Africa, the differences and similarities in the control methods between the two countries are compared. The control methods studied are biological, chemical and physical methods. Also costs for the different methods and management sites are considered. Five different management sites are investigated; three are located in South Africa and two in Australia. The biological control methods implemented in the two countries are similar and reasons for that could be international cooperation efforts. Chemical control methods are used in both countries but no further conclusions can be drawn. Differences can be found in the physical methods implemented, where expensive mechanical methods are more common in Australia and cheaper, manual methods are used in South Africa. Invasive species management is a complex matter and the best methods implemented are site specific, where social, environmental and economic factors are considered.}},
  author       = {{Edqvist, Sofie}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Fighting the world's worst aquatic weed - A comparison of management methods for Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) in Australia and South Africa}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}