419
Ecological Importance
Sambhar is a Ramsar wetland because it is a key
wintering area for many fl amingos, which
migrate from northern Asia. The specialised
algae and bacteria growing in the lake provide
striking water colours and sustain the migratory
waterfowls.
20.3.13.3 Jamwa Ramgarh Reservoir
(Jaipur, Rajasthan)
It is one of the oldest man-made reservoirs (commonly called lake) in western India. It is a 12.69km 2 (at FSL) reservoir lying at 436 m MSL,
between 26° 49′ N and 75°48′ E, about 32 km to
the northeast of Jaipur. Its maximum length,
breadth, depth, mean depth and catchment area
are 7 km, 3.5 km, 18 m, 4.6 m and 769 km
2 ,
respectively. It is somewhat triangular in shape
with a conical basin, in general. The water level
generally sinks to <13.5 m (and may even be to
10.5 m) during summer, thus exposing almost
half of the total area of the lake. The southern and
eastern sides have irregular shorelines. There are
a number of bays on these sides formed mainly
by the erosion of the sandy banks. A number of
sand dunes occur as islands nearer the shoreline
on the southern side. The upland areas are roosting grounds for birds. Annual rainfall exhibits
high degree of variability. The reservoir has been
constructed (probably by Maharaja Sawai Jai
Singh II and his associates/descendents around
1927 AD) by damming the River Banganga,
which originates in the midst of the Aravalli
Hills. This ephemeral river fl ows past Bharatpur
and receives many rivulets in its course. The
Aravallis belong to the Permo–Carboniferous
period and are mostly composed of quartzites,
which are, at some place, micaceous, felspartic or
conglomeratic. Generally, the area is sandy plain
with many small and large sand dunes. The
physico-chemical features of water portrayed
surface water temperature 19–31.5 °C, transparency >1.0–2.26 m, conductivity 111–239 μs,
TDS 162–492 mg/l and TA 2.4–3.5 mEq/l. The
pH is generally uniform and FCO 2 is usually
absent. DO is always at the saturation level in the
surface water. Phosphates and nitrates usually
occur in small quantities (the former in
<0.1 mg/l). Conversely, the chlorides may
increase substantially during the summer
(138 mg/l). No marked thermal stratifi cation is
known to occur. Further, the sediments from the
shallow regions of the reservoir generally contain
signifi cant amount of organic matter and phosphorus. The AM are confi ned mainly to bays and
shallow margins, and the area of their occurrence
varies according to fl uctuation of the water level.
Some of the abundant AM are Hydrilla verticillata, Vallisneria spiralis, Najas, Potamogeton,
etc. To the contrary, the river bed vegetation is
full of Typha, Phragmites, etc., which is a sharp
contrast from those in the lake. Thirty-fi ve species of phytoplankton have been reported representing Chlorophyceae (17 spp., notably
Chlorella, Ankistrodesmus, etc.), Diatoms (12
spp., notably Navicula, Synedra, etc.) and
Cyanophyceae (6 spp., notably Phormidium,
Merismopedia, etc.). The zooplankton include
protozoans ( Vorticella ), rotifers ( Keratella,
Colurella, etc.), cladocerans ( Ceriodaphnia,
Simocephalus, Chydorus, etc.) and copepods
( Cyclops, Diaptomus, etc.). The other fauna
include the molluscs ( Planorbis, Lamellidens,
etc.) and fi shes ( Catla calta, Cirrhinus mrigala,
Labeo calbasu, L. rohita, Puntius spp., Channa
spp., Wallago attu, etc.). The lake is usually
seeded annually with fi sh. Commercial fi shing
had started since 1969 under the regulation of
Fisheries Department of the Government. A large
bird population usually visit the lake. A few turtles were also known to occur.
20.3.14 Wetlands of Tamil Nadu (TN)
There are a large number of different types of
wetlands in the province of TN. An account of
some of these lentic bodies is given below.
20.3.14.1 Kullur Sandai and
Vembakottai Tanks
Kullur Sandai lies at about 80 m MSL, between
9° 32′ N and 77° 58′ E. On the other hand,
Vembakottai lies between 9° 20′ N and 77° 46′ E,
about 45–70 km SW of Madurai in TN. The climate is tropical monsoon. Maximum rainfall
20.3 Wetlands of Other Regions in India
Ecological Importance
Sambhar is a Ramsar wetland because it is a key
wintering area for many fl amingos, which
migrate from northern Asia. The specialised
algae and bacteria growing in the lake provide
striking water colours and sustain the migratory
waterfowls.
20.3.13.3 Jamwa Ramgarh Reservoir
(Jaipur, Rajasthan)
It is one of the oldest man-made reservoirs (commonly called lake) in western India. It is a 12.69km 2 (at FSL) reservoir lying at 436 m MSL,
between 26° 49′ N and 75°48′ E, about 32 km to
the northeast of Jaipur. Its maximum length,
breadth, depth, mean depth and catchment area
are 7 km, 3.5 km, 18 m, 4.6 m and 769 km
2 ,
respectively. It is somewhat triangular in shape
with a conical basin, in general. The water level
generally sinks to <13.5 m (and may even be to
10.5 m) during summer, thus exposing almost
half of the total area of the lake. The southern and
eastern sides have irregular shorelines. There are
a number of bays on these sides formed mainly
by the erosion of the sandy banks. A number of
sand dunes occur as islands nearer the shoreline
on the southern side. The upland areas are roosting grounds for birds. Annual rainfall exhibits
high degree of variability. The reservoir has been
constructed (probably by Maharaja Sawai Jai
Singh II and his associates/descendents around
1927 AD) by damming the River Banganga,
which originates in the midst of the Aravalli
Hills. This ephemeral river fl ows past Bharatpur
and receives many rivulets in its course. The
Aravallis belong to the Permo–Carboniferous
period and are mostly composed of quartzites,
which are, at some place, micaceous, felspartic or
conglomeratic. Generally, the area is sandy plain
with many small and large sand dunes. The
physico-chemical features of water portrayed
surface water temperature 19–31.5 °C, transparency >1.0–2.26 m, conductivity 111–239 μs,
TDS 162–492 mg/l and TA 2.4–3.5 mEq/l. The
pH is generally uniform and FCO 2 is usually
absent. DO is always at the saturation level in the
surface water. Phosphates and nitrates usually
occur in small quantities (the former in
<0.1 mg/l). Conversely, the chlorides may
increase substantially during the summer
(138 mg/l). No marked thermal stratifi cation is
known to occur. Further, the sediments from the
shallow regions of the reservoir generally contain
signifi cant amount of organic matter and phosphorus. The AM are confi ned mainly to bays and
shallow margins, and the area of their occurrence
varies according to fl uctuation of the water level.
Some of the abundant AM are Hydrilla verticillata, Vallisneria spiralis, Najas, Potamogeton,
etc. To the contrary, the river bed vegetation is
full of Typha, Phragmites, etc., which is a sharp
contrast from those in the lake. Thirty-fi ve species of phytoplankton have been reported representing Chlorophyceae (17 spp., notably
Chlorella, Ankistrodesmus, etc.), Diatoms (12
spp., notably Navicula, Synedra, etc.) and
Cyanophyceae (6 spp., notably Phormidium,
Merismopedia, etc.). The zooplankton include
protozoans ( Vorticella ), rotifers ( Keratella,
Colurella, etc.), cladocerans ( Ceriodaphnia,
Simocephalus, Chydorus, etc.) and copepods
( Cyclops, Diaptomus, etc.). The other fauna
include the molluscs ( Planorbis, Lamellidens,
etc.) and fi shes ( Catla calta, Cirrhinus mrigala,
Labeo calbasu, L. rohita, Puntius spp., Channa
spp., Wallago attu, etc.). The lake is usually
seeded annually with fi sh. Commercial fi shing
had started since 1969 under the regulation of
Fisheries Department of the Government. A large
bird population usually visit the lake. A few turtles were also known to occur.
20.3.14 Wetlands of Tamil Nadu (TN)
There are a large number of different types of
wetlands in the province of TN. An account of
some of these lentic bodies is given below.
20.3.14.1 Kullur Sandai and
Vembakottai Tanks
Kullur Sandai lies at about 80 m MSL, between
9° 32′ N and 77° 58′ E. On the other hand,
Vembakottai lies between 9° 20′ N and 77° 46′ E,
about 45–70 km SW of Madurai in TN. The climate is tropical monsoon. Maximum rainfall
20.3 Wetlands of Other Regions in India