Composition and Diversity of Aquatic Macrophytes in Lentic Ecosystem of Okpiri Igweleduoha Amagu Ikwo Peri–Urban, Ebonyi State

An assessment of macrophyte composition and diversity aimed to provide baseline information on the species richness and diversity of aquatic macrophyte of lentic ecosystem in Ikwo PeriUrban was conducted. The composition, distribution and dominance of plant species, systemic random sampling method was applied with the help of a 40cm x 40cm quadrant in the determination of the composition, distribution and dominance of aquatic macrophyte plant species. Biomass estimation of plant species was done by harvest method. Soil samples were analyzed for their texture, pH, total nitrogen (%) and total organic matter (OM%) using standard methods. Results obtained from analyzed soil samples revealed that pH (5.12), organic matter (5.79%) and Nitrogen (0.22%) were lower at the shoreline and increased towards the centre of the pond. Eight (8) families of macrophytes were recorded representing 9 species. Onagraceae had the highest species with two (2) species while the remaining had one species each. The distribution status revealed that the studied macrophytes were non-endemic and five species were classified as least concern by the IUCN Red List. The diversity indices indicated that Persicaria amphibian belonging to the Polyonaceae family had the highest number of individual species (n=178), highest density (111.25m2) and was the dominant macrophytes with 100% frequency of occurrence, while the macrophyte species with lowest abundance was Sphenoclea zeylanica and Ceratophylium demersum. The macrophytic plant biomass was 24.45g/m2. The Shannon diversity index was found to be 1.22. The species richness, Shannon diversity index and evenness and were not fairly distributed in the pond. This showed that the macrophytes in the study area were not stable, The results of this research showed that a holistic approach to aquatic resources management is thus the most logical approach to harness plant resources and associated animal communities by their utilization monitoring and control.