Journal of Environmental Management (1990) 31, 299-311

Floods Threatening Kashmir Wetlands A. K. Pandit and S. S. Qadri Centre of Research for Development, University of Kashmir, Srinagar-- 190006, India Received 5 May 1989

The wetlands of the Kashmir Himalaya have been made inhospitable by recurring flooding. As a result of heavy deposits of silt, many important species of plants and animals have vanished and many more are losing their habitats: in contrast, however, a few new species are appearing and spreading fast. The destruction caused by flood waters and sediment deposition is detrimental to many species of water-birds inhabiting the wetlands. Adequate flood control measures are essential to ensure the survival of these productive ecosystems.

Keywords: wetlands, floods, sinks, macrophytes, waterfowl, restoration. 1. Introduction Recently, Cowardin et al. (1979) have defined wetlands as "lands transitional between purely terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water-table is usually at or near the surface and the land is covered by shallow water". These complex hydrological and biogeochemical systems, regarded as being among the most productive ecosystems of the world (de la Cruz, 1973; Leith and Whittaker, 1975; Turner, 1977), play vital roles such as: in biogeochemical cycles; in flood control by acting as sinks and checking the destructive power of floods; in conservation and purification of water by regulating water quality; in treatment of waste waters; and in reducing sediment load and ground water recharge. They also serve as precious ecological resources that provide food, fodder, fish, and wildlife, honey, wax, timber, biofertilizers and medicinal plants. It is being increasingly realized that wetland habitats in their natural states are supportive of many of the "development" goals of modern man and are at their best if they are left unchanged. In the western Himalaya, many diverse types of freshwater wetlands are situated in the Kashmir valley (Figure 1, Table 1). The series of wetlands lying all along the floodplains of rivers Jhelum and Sind (34~176 ' N, 74~176 E, and 1580-1600 m altitude) have remained almost neglected. Despite their great productive potential for food, fodder and wildlife, the wetlands have traditionally been considered as foreboding and dangerous places which have little economic value, and, therefore, have been regarded as "wastelands" serving as dumping grounds for waste and sinks for floods.

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TABLE 1. Location and description of some important wetlands (Pandit and Fotedar, 1982) Wetland site

Location t

Type of wetland

Area (km 2) Depth range Source of water~: (m)

Nowgam

43 km southwest of Srinagar

Temporary and shallow

3.05

Mirgund

16 km southwest of Srinagar

Temporary and deep

4.29

0"05-1.05

Shalabogh 20 km north of Srinagar

Temporary and deep

7.00

0-1.00

Malgam

57 km southwest of Srinagar

Permanent and shallow

4-16

0"22-0-40

Mainly springs and channels irrigating paddy fields

Haigam

55 km west of Srinagar

Permanent and shallow

14.00

0.15-0.80

Channels irrigating paddy fields.

Hokarsar

11 km southwest of Srinagar

Permanent and deep

5'00

0"66-1.20

Mainly Doodganga Flood Channel.

13--0.80 Kutakol and other ephemeral channels irrigating paddy fields. Mainly Sukhnalla and channels irrigating paddy fields. River Sind; forms littorals of Anchar Lake.

+ All the wetlands are spread round the city of Srinagar in the valley of Kashmir which lies in the northern fringe of the Indian sub-continent. :~All the wetlands are also rain-fed and serve as sinks during floods. Further impacts of rapidly expanding h u m a n populations and fast urbanization have made the future bleak for wildlife by subsequent reclamation of large areas of wetlands for agriculture, road construction, and housing developments, and by diverting of flood waters into them when floods occur. The socio-economically and bio-aesthetically important wetland ecosystems o f Kashmir, harbouring a rich and diverse gene pool, are dwindling at an alarming rate, and are losing their identity and character as they become silted up, thereby reducing their use as waterfowl habitats (Kaul and Pandit, 1980; Pandit, 1982a). The deterioration of wetlands is further aggrevated by recurring floods bringing in huge quantities of allochthonous material like silt and domestic refuse. Large peripheral areas o f the wetlands have already been silted up and converted into crop, hay and pasture lands by drainage, land clearing, and land levelling processes. 2. C a u s e s o f flood disasters

Floods result from lateral overflow of streams and rivers, or from sheet-flooding from rain as a result of inadequate drainage. Depending upon the size of the catchment area, the flood pattern can be polymodal or monomodal. The floods of greatest magnitude are mainly caused by too much rain falling in too short a period, or prolonged rain falling on land that is already saturated with water. The extent of the damage is exacerbated by h u m a n occupancy of the floodplains of the Jhelum and Sind Rivers. This occupancy is increasing each year, with more non-absorbing surfaces being added by urban infrastructures, thus aggravating the problem o f rapid runoff. Moreover, the increase in roads, bridges, and roadside buildings all add to the problems of the river channels

302

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handling flood flows. The cultivation of land, coupled with increased runoff, erosion, and siltation result in the raising of river and stream beds and the filling up of wetlands. Some of the important wetlands in Kashmir have already been destroyed by the malpractices of man. For example, the feeding channel now called Doodganga in the Jammu and Kashmir State, at one time was not connected to the Hokarsar wetland, one of the most populous sites of migratory waterfowl. Shortly after 1947, however, people diverted the Doodganga Channel, now also called the Flood Channel, into this wetland to save their agricultural fields and human settlements from flooding, and it has served as a sink for floods ever since. The channel steadily silted up the wetland, especially so in 1959 when floods were in full spate. Most of the wetland periphery was covered by silt, and its northeastern portion was completely converted into terrestrial land which is now used for plantations and vegetable gardens. This typical wetland has shrunk in area from 9 km 2 to 5 km 2, with an open water area of 1.74 km2. It is because of floods, bringing in huge quantities of eroded soil every year, that a large number of important wetlands like Nowgam, Malangpora, Tullamula, Mirgund, Shalabogh, Kranchu, Malgam, Haigam, Narkora, and Hokarsar are gradually shrinking in size and deteriorating (Pandit and Fotedar, 1982). 3. Incidence of floods The general climatic conditions of the Kashmir valley conform to the sub-mediterranean type and are characterized by rainfall occurring all year except the 2 or 3 dry periods that occur in summer and autumn (Figure 2). The great amount of precipitation leads to frequent rains in spring when the temperature gradually starts increasing, causing

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melting of the ice. The heavy spring rains consequently lead to the occurrence of floods. The annual precipitation is around 93 cm, one third of which is received in the form of snow during winter. A heavy rainfall (142 mm maximum) for 16 days in August in 1976 led to the occurrence of floods even during the summer (Pandit, 1980). As shown by the history of floods during the recent past, the wetlands of the valley have become inhospitable mainly because of the floods of 1952, 1959, 1976, 1986 and 1987, the first of these being catastrophic, and devastated some wetlands altogether (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Floods destroying K a s h m i r wetlands.

4. Process of siltation During the rainy season, the wetlands are flooded as most of them are situated in the low-lying areas and floodplains of the rivers Jhelum and Sind. The retention of surplus water depends primarily on the carrying capacity of the wetlands, beyond which they are damaged by the destructive power of the-floods. The soil material that flowing water picks up is dropped when the water reaches a depression. Deposition of sediments is a continuous process, as seen in the Hokarsar and Shalabogh areas, and can fill a wetland basin completely. The rate at which the wetlands are filled with silt depends on nearby farming practices such as strip cropping and contour ploughing, the type of crop that is grown, the intensity of the rainfall and the rate of water flow. Many places that once were marshes are so filled with sediment that they are now covered with weeds and dense growth of willows (Salix sp.). The water level fluctuations, the rate of water flow, and the silt load fluctuations before and after the floods of 1986 and 1987 are given in Table 2 and Figures 4 and 5.

5. Ecological changes in the wetland biotopes 5.1.

CHANGE IN WATER CHEMISTRY

With the onset of floods, the nutrient level of wetland waters increases slightly because the first showers of rain transport huge quantities of nutrients in with the sewage and

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TABL~2. Water level fluctuations (depth range in metres) from January-June 1986 and 1987 in Hokarsar Month

1986

January February March April May June

1987

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runoff from the surrounding areas, but, with the subsequent rains, the dilution factor of the water increases and consequently the mineral loading decreases. Pandit (1980) envisaged the following changes in a number of chemical parameters of water during the floods of August 1976: 1. Decrease in pH, a fact which agrees with the results of Mohanty and Dash (1982). 2. Slight increase in total phosphorus. Increased available phosphorus in soils due to flooding has also been reported by many workers (Mohanty and Patnaik, 1976; Mandal, 1964). 3. Increase in nitrates and nitrites and decrease in ammoniacal forms of nitrogen. 4. Decrease in potassium, sodium and magnesium. 5. Increase in siliates after floods. 5.2. CHANGE IN THE PLANKTON COMMUNITY 5.2.1.

Phytoplankton

The phenomenal changes in the physico-chemical characteristics of water evoke a series of chain reactions which are manifested in the algal populations and consequently in the

A. K. Pandit and S. S. Qadri

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grazer species. The important features of the phytoplankton, indicating eutrophication, during August 1976 according to Pandit (1980) were: 1. Cyanophyceae was the most dominant group in all the wetlands and reached a density of 1 535 000 individuals m -3, equalling a biomass of 32.8 mg m -3 in the Malgam wetland. Mirgund also enjoying a higher trophic status (Kaul and Pandit, 1981) recorded a similar rise. Among blue-greens, forms like Rivularia minutula, Nostoc sp., Anabaena sp., Lyngbya aestuarii, Glaeotrichia echinulata, Oscillitoria sp., Chrococcus turgidus, Synechococcus ambiguus, Microcystis sp., Radiocystis geminata and Gomphosphaera wichurae flourished. 2. Short outbursts of Volvocales represented by Eudorina elegans, Gonium sp., Volvox sp. and Pandorina sp. 3. Abrupt fall in the diatom population despite appreciable quantities of silicates. This result supports the view point held by Singh (1960), Zafar (1967), and Kaul et al. (1978) who do not consider the silicates as a limiting factor for diatoms. 4. Slight increase in the percentage contribution of euglenoids in general. 5.2.2. Zooplankton

Zooplankton populations suffered drastic changes during the 1976 flood (Pandit, 1980). The changes were of a catastrophic nature for crustaceans who suffered heavy mortality due to siltation. As a result, an abrupt fall in the population and biomass (0.04-0.28% of the total zooplankton) of crustaceans from that of early mid-summer values (0.110.33% density; 3.68-14.60% biomass) was recorded. These values were even below that of the winter minimum. During this period, only exoskeletons of the majority of the species, particularly that of Cladocera, could be collected at the various study sites. In

306

Flooding of wetlands

TABLE 3. Composition of various macrophytic species in five. wetland sites (Pandit, A. K. 1980) Plant Species (a) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.

Emergents: Phragmites australis Typha angustata Sparganium erectum Scirpus lacustris S. palustris Carex articulata C. serotinus Carex spp. Cyperus serotinus Cyperus spp. Acorus calamus Eleocharis palustris Sagittaria sagittifolia Juncus articulatus Sium latijugum Alisma plantago Menyanthes trifoliata Spiranthes sinensis Polygonum hydropiper Ranunculus lingua Cladium mariscus Myriophyllum verticillatum

(b) 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31.

Rooted floating-leaf types: Polygonum amphibium Nymphaea candida N. stellata Nymphoides peltata Hydroeharis morsus-ranae H. dubia Potamogeton natans Trapa natans Marsilea quadrifolia

Nowgam

Malgam

Haigam

Mirgund

Hokorsar

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Submergeds: Ceratophyllum demersum Myriophyllum spicatum Ranunculus aquatilis Chara zeylanica Potamogeton crispus P. lucens Potamogeton spp Utricularia flexuosa

d, dominant; p, fairly present; and r, rare.

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A. K. Pandit and S. S. Qadri

307

contrast, an increase in rotifers (2.48-6.90% density; 2.71-8.17% biomass) and protozoans (92.95-97-45% density; 80.71-93.60% biomass) was recorded. Under such conditions, the majority of ciliates and rotifers, namely Brachionus sp. and Keratella sp., flourished. 5.3.

CHANGE IN VEGETATION PATTERN AND ASSOCIATED FAUNA

Accelerating anthropogenic pressures, coupled with recurring floods throughout their history have brought a series of changes in the biotic composition of wetlands in Kashmir (Table 3). For instance, before the floods of 1952 and 1959, Horkarsar wetland was a rich source of some economically important plants such as Trapa natans, Nelumbium nucifera and Nymphoides peltata. The thick stands of emergents, namely Phragmites australis (tall ecotype) and Typha angustata, at this site formed the most suitable breeding sites for mallard, white-eyed pochard and coot until 1924 (Bates and Lowther, 1952). However, the chief colonizers of the wetland at present are Trapa natans, and Nymphaea alba. Nelumbium nucifera has now completely vanished from the wetland and Phragmites australis is gradually losing its ground and being replaced by Sparanium erectum (Figures 6 and 7). Above all, the number of macrophytic species has considerably decreased from 54 in 1963 to 24 in 1980 (Kaul and Zutshi, 1967; Pandit, 1980). Among the causative factors, hydrology coupled with overgrazing and harvesting have affected mainly the structure and composition of the vegetation. Altered land use patterns, opening of the catchment area, and inflow of silt-impregnated flood waters have greatly reduced the biological diversity and production, especially of the submerged macrophytes. In the past, the waterfowl population was quite large and the wetlands were deep enough for diving ducks, but, as a consequence of changing hydrological regimes brought about by floods, varying in the frequency, duration and amplitude, and of altered vegetation patterns, the migratory waterfowl (ducks, geese and rails) do not now breed in the wetlands of Kashmir. Similarly, the population of greylag goose (Anser anser) has now recently begun to decline because this species prefers Phragmites australis over Sparganium erectum as food (Kaul and Pandit, 1980; Pandit, 1980). As a conservation measure for the restoration of bird populations, the Department of Wildlife Protection, Jammu and Kashmir State has recently attempted the introduction of the endangered bar-headed goose (Anser indicus) into a new habitat in the Hokarsar

Figure 6. Thick stands of Phragmites austral& growing in Hokarsar wetland during 1975.

308

Flooding of wetlands

Figure 7. Sparganium erectum replacing Phragmites australis during recent years (1987).

wetland, being reared from a consignment of 30 eggs brought from England in May 1986 (Qadri, 1987; Pandit, 1988a). How far the Jammu and Kashmir Government is able to raise the population of the bar-headed goose in wetland reserves of Kashmir yet remains to be seen! Inadequate flood control and irrigation operations also play their part in damaging flora and fauna as a result of heavy siltation. As a result of floods in 1952, 1959, 1976, 1986 and 1987, the macrophytes remained submerged under silt, often resulting in their fast decay and decomposition (Kaul et al., 1978). However, of the spring floods of 1986 and 1987, the flood of 1987 was more prolonged and detrimental. During both of these years, the floods devastated two species, namely Nymphoides peltata and Phragmites australis. Surprisingly the submerged plants Ceratophyllum demersum and Myriophyllum spicatum, which occur rarely in the wetlands of Kashmir because of the tough competition offered to them by emergents, flourished after the floods were over. A notable feature of the heavy floods of 1987 was the destruction of Phragmites australis in the Hokarsar wetland and that of Sparganium erectum in the Haigam wetland. In Haigam, a large number of floating islands were drifted by strong currents, thereby increasing the open water area of the wetland, which subsequently received heavy deposits of silt. The shallowing of wetlands over long periods, together with other ecological changes, has been the main cause for the disappearance of snow-fish (Schizothorax sp.), an endemic species, from the wetlands of Kashmir. 5.4. IMPACT OF FLOODS ON WATERFOWL The immediate effect of floods was observed on summer migrants (migrating to the high altitude valley of Kashmir from the plains of India) who suffered greatly in their breeding and nesting (Figure 8). In 1986, their nesting was greatly hampered in spring and was delayed until the middle of June when they started laying eggs. Then, surprisingly, the water level in Hokarsar increased tremendously before the end of June because of the diversion of agricultural channels by farmers, bringing in huge quantities of flood water into the wetland. As a result of this abrupt rise in water level, the summer migrants lost their nests along with the eggs and, therefore, failed to breed properly.

A. K. Pandit and S, S. Qadri

309

Figure 8. Macrophytes provide suitable ecological niches for birds: floating nest of Moorhen (Gallinula chloropusparvifrons)constructed during egg-layingstage in Hokarsar.

Before the floods of late June 1986, 74-77 nests of the moorhen (Gallinula chloropus parvifrons), with an average number of 7-8 eggs per nest, were recorded in an area of 1 km 2. After the floods had subsided completely, renesting took place, but the density of nests and clutch size were reduced to 35~10 nests with 4-5 eggs per nest. Similarly, the nest density and clutch size of pheasant-tailed jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus) was reduced from 13 nests, with 4 eggs in each nest, in 1 km 2 to 6 nests, with 2-3 eggs per nest, in the same area after the floods receded completely. Dabchick (Podiceps ruficollis albipennis) also exhibited a similar trend after a rise in water level (Table 4). The least affected summer migrant was the c o m m o n tern (Chilodonias leucopareia) which recorded a population density of 85-90, concentrated on the central Trapa patch spreading over an area of 0.5 km 2 in the Hokarsar wetland (Table 4). The impact o f the 1987 floods, extending from late spring to early summer, was even more severe, as hardly a single nest could be built until the middle of June. The bird population in the initial stages of migration was fairly high, but, once the floods gained their full tempo, it declined gradually in wetlands as a result of their incursions into the surrounding paddy fields. However, after the floods, the bird populations increased in the Hokarsar wetland, and a limited number of 15-20 jacana were encountered within the wetland, although the common tern was still scarce. The bird most affected under TABLE4. Variation in nest density, clutch size and bird density of summer migrants before and after floods in 1987 Bird species

Moorhen Jacana Common tern Snipe

Number of nests/km z

Clutch size (number of eggs/nest)

Approximate number of birds/km 2

BF

AF

BF

AF

BF

AF

74-77 13 85-90

35-40 6 nil --

7-8 4 5 --

4-5 2-3 nil --

80 25 35 11

25 5 10 nil

BF, Before Floods; AF, After Floods

310

Flooding of wetlands

these conditions was the little bittern, being adversely affected because the emergent macrophytes which provide suitable nesting sites for this species were buried under the heavy load of silt. 6. Restoration o f wetlands

The damage caused to wetlands can be offset only when the use of wetlands as "sinks" during floods is totally abandoned. Habitat preservation, law enforcement, public awareness and management are all important to ensure the survival of these bioaesthetically and socio-economically important biotopes. The solutions involved in the management programmes should, however, aim at: 1. Manipulation of low water levels by constructing inflow and outflow gates on the channels feeding and draining the wetland (Pandit and Fotedar, 1982; Pandit, 1982b)--Figure 9. 2. Construction of flood water storage reservoirs further upstream may also help, though such reservoirs will not eliminate floods. 3. Regulating sedimentation of silt by the construction of settling basins near the entrance of feeding channels (Pandit, 1988b). 4. Reducing deforestation of the catchment area and the subsequent soil erosion which destroys wetlands. Reforestation of the entire catchment area can reduce the recurrence of floods. 5. Maintenance of appropriate sized enclosures and their borders with the surrounding paddy fields by construction of a stable earthen boundary with a Salix plantation round the wetland margin. 6. Maintenance of suitable plant cover around pothole margins for nesting and breeding purposes. Many authors have noted that lightly used or unused upland vegetation containing dead litter from the previous year forms the best nesting cover for water birds (Moyle, 1964; Kitsch, 1969; Pandit and Fotedar, 1982). 7. Restricting housing--which adds non-absorbing surfaces through the construction of roads, bridges and roadside buildings--close to wetlands. 8. Flood control, irrigation and land reclamation projects also take their toll. Water

Figure 9. A needle-gateat the exit regulateswater-levelsinsidethe Hokarsar reserve.

A. K. Pandit and S. S. Qadri

311

in a m a r s h m a y f l o o d s u r r o u n d i n g f a r m l a n d s in the w e t s e a s o n , a n d the r e m o v a l o f f l o o d w a t e r m a y l e a d to the d r a i n a g e o f the w h o l e m a r s h . B e c a u s e l a c k o f c o n t r o l s t r u c t u r e s at t h e o u t l e t is u s u a l l y t h e c a u s e , w h a t s o m e t i m e s is c a l l e d f l o o d c o n t r o l is a c t u a l l y c o m p l e t e d r a i n a g e . 9. D i v e r t i n g f l o o d w a t e r s i n t o t h e big rivers like the J h e l u m a n d t h e S i n d t h r o u g h a n e t w o r k o f n e w l y d u g - o u t c h a n n e l s b e f o r e its e n t r y i n t o the w e t l a n d . 10. D e v e l o p m e n t o f f l o o d w a r n i n g p r o g r a m m e s . I n c o n c l u s i o n , l o c a l a n d state i n t e r e s t in w e t l a n d s a n d t h e i r n a t u r a l r e s o u r c e s m a y d o m u c h to c o u n t e r a c t d a m a g e f r o m f l o o d i n g .

References

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