Primary productivity of Erai river in Chandrapur district, Maharashtra, India.

Abstract

Productivity is the production capacity of a pond or any other water body. Generally, the ecosystems are self sustaining. The ecosystem productivity depends upon its physical and chemical parameters which constitutes the whole environment. Erai river is a main tributary of Wardha river in Chandrapur District. Its length is approximately 25 Km. from its origin near Kasarbodi at Khadsangi in Chimur Tahsil of Chandrapur District. Erai river supplies water to Chandrapur city and Chandrapur Super Thermal Power Station. The primary productivity was studied at three sites during the period of three months (Janauary, 2017 to March, 2017) as a project of M.Sc. In the present investigation, the gross primary production was ranged between 83.3 to 104.16 mg.C.m³.hr^-1, net primary production was 41.6 to 62.5 mg.C.m³.hr^-1 and community respiration was 41.6 to 51.6 mg.C.m³.hr^-1. The primary productivity shows the seasonal variation. From this study, it may be concluded that, Erai river is deterioted due to rural and urban wastes near the river. It is also affected with unwanted growth of Ecornia plants and domestic effluents.

Keywords: Erai river, Primary productivity, Gross primary productivity (GPP), Net primary productivity (NPP) and Community respiration (CR).