Effect of water quality on the spatial distribution of charophytes in the Peshawar Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

The presented research was conducted in 2018–2019 in the Peshawar Valley, Pakistan, to study for the first time the effect of water quality on the spatial distribution of charophytes. A total of six taxa of charophytes were found at 41 sites in the Peshawar Valley along the banks of seven rivers, 16 streams and two wetlands: Chara braunii C.C.Gmelin, C. connivens Salzmann ex A.Braun, C. contraria A.Braun ex Kützing, C. globularis Thuiller, C. vulgaris Linnaeus, and Nitellopsis obtusa (Desvaux) J.Groves. Chara vulgaris was the most abundant species, followed by C. globularis, and C. contraria. Water pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity and dissolved oxygen (DO) were within the permissible limits for Pakistan, while water temperature, oxidation reduction potential (ORP) and resistivity showed deviations. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) revealed that DO affected Chara vulgaris, pH and resistivity affected C. braunii, C. connivens and
C. globularis, temperature and ORP affected C. contraria and Nitellopsis obtusa. Furthermore, CCA showed that TDS, EC, and salinity had no effect on the spatial distribution of Chara contraria, C. vulgaris and Nitellopsis obtusa. Chara contraria and Nitellopsis obtusa should be protected under VU (Vulnerable) status (IUCN) along with their habitats.

Conclusion

Charophytes in the Peshawar Valley were represented by six species from the genera Chara and Nitellopsis, which were identified through the analysis of 126 samples collected from 41 sampling sites in 2018–2019. Ecological preferences of each species were revealed using different statistical programs. The similarity of accompanying algal species in terms of their abundance (Khuram et al. 2017, 2019) was also calculated to confirm the ecology of Charophyta at the study sites. Three pairs of species with similar responses to environmental parameters of water quality were identified. Chara braunii and C. connivens prefer low saline and low alkaline water and avoid polluted water, which allowed us to assign them to IUCN conservation status from LR to EN, as in Europe. Chara contraria and Nitellopsis obtusa avoid polluted waters and prefer low saline and low alkaline water with low temperature. The extinction risk for both species in the Peshawar Valley can be defined as VU and their habitats could be protected. The last pair, Chara vulgaris and C. globularis, tolerates pollution and prefers high salinity, high alkaline and well oxygenated water. Both species were found in heterogenous habitats of the Peshawar Valley and did not avoid polluted sites where the Swat and Kabul rivers enter the valley, so they do not need protection.

Acknowledgement

This work is part of the Ph.D. dissertation by Izaz Khuram.

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