Abstract
Eichhornia crassipes and Salvinia molesta, both notorious weeds, are present in the catchment of Cabora Bassa, a new man-made lake on the Zambezi River, Moçambique.
Weed dispersal, controlled by wind and current (and indirectly by rate of lake filling and lake morphology) culminated in the distribution of mats in the eastern and western extremities with very small cover in central lake areas. Eichhornia offset production was initially very rapid later diminishing markedly with many plants showing symptoms o: nutrient deficiency. Eichhornia completely dominated mat composition at the end of the year whilst Salvinia cover was negligible.
Heavy drawdown in the middle of the year lead to destruction of nearly 50% of the weed mats. Whilst pre-drawdown levels were attained by the end of the year, there was no evidence for expected explosive population growth and extensive weed colonization in the filling phase.
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Bond, W.J., Roberts, M.G. The colonization of Cabora Bassa, Moçambique, a new man-made lake, by floating aquatic macrophytes. Hydrobiologia 60, 243–259 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00011719
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00011719