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How Does Water Hyacinth Affect The Sustainability Of Water?

Decent Essays

International Baccalaureate
Environmental Systems and Societies
Internal Assessment

To examine the the likelihood of survival of a water hyacinth in an environment that has high amounts of zinc, copper, phosphorus.

Mikaela gjx437
Riverview Highschool
Word Count: 1982 Aim: The aim of this lab is to examine how the affect of high concentrations of zinc, copper, and phosphorus have on water hyacinth. This lab also intends to stimulate this as a non-point source form of water pollution in this highly invasive and sustainable plant.

Research Question And Justification
How does the exposure of high volumes of phosphorus, zinc, and copper affect the sustainability of the plant? If it does survive the exposure to the stimulation of non-point …show more content…

Back Round Research
Water hyacinth are one of the most invasive species, especially in Florida. The originated in the Amazon Basin, and after this first introduction the spread of this aquatic plant soon began to dominate the majority of freshwater environments. The can easily cover a large portion of a pond, as the multiply a lot faster than most floating aquatic plants. Water hyacinths scientific name is eichhornia crassipes, and are predominantly noted as being a floating aquatic plant that has no attachment to the floor of the pond or lake. Water hyacinths are the only aquatic plant that has this quality. They are characterized by their full foliage and prominent green leaves. Their bloom is pale lavender and depending on where these plants are on a global scale. Their roots start off very bulbous as their purpose is to hold in as much water as possible and provide enough air that the hyacinth stay buoyant. The roots then build up and continue to fan out into very dense, waxy leaf. Water hyacinths are strictly freshwater plants, as placed in an environment that has high salinity, or even …show more content…

Water hyacinths can be used as buffering agents, and with the presence of other plants int he experiment can be a sure sign of how successful or how unsuccessful these plants can be used as buffers.

Procedure

Put on gloves, and start in an area that will have a balance of sunlight and shade for water hyacinths. Make note how green and how well the foliage is forming and if there are any signs of the plant dying or being malnourished.
Measure out freshwater, equating enough for all three plants, especially when the plant is submerged in the water. Measure how much each plant weighs, and how wide and tall the plant is.
Gently submerge the plants into individual containers, as we are testing the effectiveness of each metal. It is okay if these plants are completely submerged in water, as they will balance out. Don’t force the plants to squeeze into these containers, if need be, find larger containers. The amount of water should be around 6 oz, place the plant in and then top off with about 5.2 ounces of freshwater so the plant is

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