Ropar Wetland, also named Ropar Lake, is a man-made freshwater riverine and

lacustrine A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

. The area has at least 9 mammal, 154

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

(migratory and local), 35

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

, 9

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chiti ...

, 11 rotifer, 9

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group can ...

and 10 protozoan species, making it

biologically diverse Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...

.Inventory of Wetlands
" Ropar Reservoir, pp. 380-403. Retrieved on 12 November 2008. This important ecological zone is located in the Shivalik foothills of the Lower

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

and was created in 1952 on the Sutlej River, in the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

state of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, by building a head regulator to store and divert water for beneficial uses of irrigation, drinking and industrial water supply. The endangered

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...

'' Chitra indica'' and the threatened snake ''

Python molurus The Indian python (''Python molurus'') is a large python species native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is also known by the common names black-tailed python, Indian rock python, and Asian ...

'' ("at lower risk"), as per

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

, are reported to be resident in the wetland.Ropar Lake
"

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

. 24 May 2006. Retrieved on 12 November 2008.Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands (RIS)
" 12 April 2001. Retrieved on 12 November 2008. Considering the wetland's diverse and rich biodiversity,

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on W ...

has included Ropar Wetland (listed as Ropar Lake) as one of the

Ramsar sites A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) ** Marshes on inorganic soils: *** Permanent (herb dominated) (Tp) *** P ...

among the 42 sites listed under India, for "the conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining human life through the ecological and hydrological functions they perform."The List of Wetlands of International Importance
(DOC). The Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands. 31 October 2008. Retrieved on 12 November 2008. Ropar Wetland Credit To Rudhrah Gourav

The wetland once was a popular tourist attraction for bird watching and boating. A tourism complex called the ‘Pinccasia’ was located within the wetland boundary, which was run by the Punjab Tourism Development Corporation. A boat club was also functioning. Now only a dilapidated building of tourist bungalow exists, boating Bay is damaged, garden is also unkept. The road leading to Katli fish farm once displayed typical ecological succession with Marsilea growing on the banks of lake along with Equisetum sp.(Horsetails) growing through large rock boulders on the bank. Typha grew further away from lake going a across the narrow road with Ferns growing ultimately leading to shrubs during early 1990s. Now only shrubs and trees can be seen.

Access

The wetland is located close to the city of

Rupnagar Rupnagar (; formerly known as Ropar is a city and a municipal council in Rupnagar district in the Indian state of Punjab. Rupnagar is a newly created fifth Divisional Headquarters of Punjab comprising Rupnagar, Mohali, and its adjoining dist ...

, 45 km northwest of

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which a ...

City, in

and Nawanshahr districts of Punjab. Chandigarh is the nearest airport, which connects it to the rest of India.

History

An archaeological museum of the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...

at Ropar has displays of the antiquities unearthed during the excavations of mound in the area along with photographs displaying excavation material. The Museum depicts a sequence of six cultural periods or phases, with some breaks from Harappan times to the present day, found in the ancient mound known as Nalagarh Tibbi overlaying the

Shiwalik The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Indian ...

(also spelt Sivalik) deposition on the left bank of the Satluj River where it emerges into the plains. A deep well with a stone inscription of Emperor Shah Jahan (AD 1627-1658) has been located at the foot of the mound. The excavations have established that advanced civilization similar to the Harappa and Mohenjodaro Civilization prospered in Ropar town, an integral part of the wetland.Places of Interest, Rupnagar
" ''Gazetter Rupnagar'', Chapter 19
Punjab Department of Revenue
1987. Retrieved on 12 November 2008.

Anglo - Sikh treaty

The wetland area has also a modern history in respect of Anglo - Sikh relations. On 26 October 1831, sitting under the shade of an old

ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extendi ...

tree on the bank of Sutlej River,

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

and Lord William Bentinck, the British Governor General signed an agreement defining the Anglo - Sikh relations and territories. Shahi Mulakaat Sthan Maharaja Ranjit Singh Runagar Image Credit Entrepreneur Rudhrah Gourav

Shahi Mulakaat Sthan Maharaja Ranjit Singh Runagar Image Credit Entrepreneur Rudhrah Gourav

Topography

The total area covered by the Wetland is 1365 ha, which includes 800 ha area of the river and the reservoir, 30 ha of forest area named as Sadavarat Forest and 30 ha under marshy plants. The wetland is surrounded by hills in the North West and by plain area in the South and South East. Agricultural crops such as

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

, sugarcane, sorghum etc., are grown in the farm lands in the area surrounding the wetland but the hills have thin vegetation and are exposed to intensive grazing.

Hydrology

Climatically, the drainage area of the wetland falls under semi-arid zone of Punjab with mean annual rainfall of 1518 mm. Initially, in the year 1882, a small headwork was constructed on the right bank of Sutlej River, near Ropar town, to supply water to Sirhind Canal. Subsequently, in 1952, a head regulator was constructed to divert water not only to the Bist Doab Canal but also to Sirhind Canal and to the Bhakra Main Canal (upstream of the wetland), for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

, industrial and domestic use.

Water quality

Water quality that determines the health of ecosystem of the wetland was monitored by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) in the year 1998-99. The water quality was reported to be of 'A' category as the river entered into Punjab and deteriorated to 'D' category downstream of Ropar Lake, mainly due to the industrial effluents from a number of factories and industrial units. Further studies on physico-chemical analysis of important parameters, biological estimations as well as pesticide residue analysis have been initiated.

Flora and fauna

The wetland is rich in

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

which are categorized below.

Flora

A total of 19 species of trees and 14 species of bushes and grasses are recorded. Of these, the tree species are '' Acacia catechu'', '' Ameles modesta'', ''

Acacia nilotica ''Vachellia nilotica'', more commonly known as ''Acacia nilotica'', and by the vernacular names of gum arabic tree, babul, thorn mimosa, Egyptian acacia or thorny acacia, is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Africa, the M ...

'', ''

Albizzia ''Albizia'' is a genus of more than 160 species of mostly fast-growing subtropical and tropical trees and shrubs in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. The genus is pantropical, occurring in Asia, Africa, Madagascar, America and A ...

lebbek'' '' Azadirachta indica'', '' Bombax ceiba'', ''

Cassia fistula ''Cassia fistula'', commonly known as golden shower, purging cassia, Indian laburnum, or pudding-pipe tree,U. S. Department of Agriculture, William Saunders; Catalogue of Economic Plants in the Collection of the U. S. Department of Agriculture; ...

'', ''

Dalbergia sissoo ''Dalbergia sissoo'', known commonly as North Indian rosewood or ''shisham'', is a fast-growing, hardy, deciduous rosewood tree native to the Indian subcontinent and southern Iran. ''D. sissoo'' is a large, crooked tree with long, leathery leav ...

'', '' Eucalyptus tereticornis'', ''

Ficus benghalensis ''Ficus benghalensis'', commonly known as the banyan, banyan fig and Indian banyan, is a tree native to the Indian Subcontinent. Specimens in India are among the largest trees in the world by canopy coverage. It also known as the " strangler fig ...

'', '' Ficus religiosa'', ''

Mangifera indica ''Mangifera indica'', commonly known as mango, is a species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is a large fruit tree, capable of growing to a height of . There are two distinct genetic populations in modern mangoesthe "Indian ty ...

'', '' Melia azedarach'', ''

Moringa oleifera ''Moringa oleifera'' is a fast-growing, drought-resistant tree of the family Moringaceae, native to the Indian subcontinent. Common names include moringa, drumstick tree (from the long, slender, triangular seed-pods), horseradish tree (from t ...

'', '' Morus indica'', ''

Prosopis juliflora ''Prosopis juliflora'' ( es, bayahonda blanca, Cuji Venezuela, Trupillo Colombia, Aippia Wayuunaiki and long-thorn kiawe in Hawaii) is a shrub or small tree in the family Fabaceae, a kind of mesquite. It is native to Mexico, South America and th ...

'', ''

Salix Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

'' (willow), '' Syzygium cumini'' (jambul) and '' Zizyphus jujuba''.

Aquafauna

Wetland is a major source of fisheries since large species of fishes have been recorded; some of the commercially important ones are:

Rohu The rohu, rui, ruhi or roho labeo (''Labeo rohita'') is a species of fish of the carp family, found in rivers in South Asia. It is a large omnivore and extensively used in aquaculture. Description The rohu is a large, silver-colored fish o ...

; Labeo gonius Seerha;

Labeo ''Labeo'' is a genus of carps in the family Cyprinidae. They are found in freshwater habitats in the tropics and subtropics of Africa and Asia. It contains the typical labeos in the subfamily Labeoninae, which may not be a valid group, however ...

calbasu Kalbans or Dhai;

dero Gid;

dyocheilus (Kunni);

Catla Catla (''Labeo catla''), ( bn, কাতলা, translit=kātlā) also known as the major South Asian carp, is an economically important South Asian freshwater fish in the carp family Cyprinidae. It is native to rivers and lakes in northern Indi ...

catla Thal; Cirrhinus mrigala Mori; Puntius sarana Puthi; Cyprinus carpio communis ( common carp); Cyprinus carpio spacularis ( Mirror carp); Ceenopharyngodon idelle (

grass carp The grass carp (''Ctenopharyngodon idella'') is a species of large herbivorous freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae, native to the Pacific Far East, with a native range stretching from northern Vietnam to the Amur River on the Sino-Russi ...

);

wallago attu ''Wallago attu'' is a freshwater catfish of the family Siluridae, native to South and Southeast Asia. It is commonly known as helicopter catfish or wallago catfish. It has known by various names in different regions and languages, such as Borali(� ...

Mali; Aorichthys seenghala Sangarha; Mastacembelus armatus Sam (Tire track eel); Ambasis ranga Shisha Mach; Channa punctatus Dolla (snake headed fish); and

Channa striata ''Channa striata'', the striped snakehead, is a species of snakehead fish. It is also known as the common snakehead, chevron snakehead, or snakehead murrel and generally referred simply as mudfish. It is native to South and Southeast Asia, and h ...

Curd. Gour species of

frogs A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" '' Triadobatrachus'' is ...

have been noted.

Avifauna

Several species of birds have been recorded including 49 local birds, 11 migratory birds, 3 rare birds and 54 common birds. Some of the rare migratory birds are: golden-backed woodpecker (''Dinopium benghalense'', crimson-breasted barbet (''Megalaima haemacephala'') and

green barbet The green barbet (''Stactolaema olivacea'') is a species of bird in the Lybiidae family (African barbets). It is found in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa. It occurs in forests from sea level to . Its isolated populations are ...

(''Stactolaema olivacea'').

Fauna

Two species of tortoise ('' Geoclemys hamiltonii'' and '' Chitra indica'' both endangered), five species of lizards, eleven species of snakes including the threatened ''

'' or Indian python or ajgar are found in the wetland.

Food chain

The

food chain A food chain is a linear network of links in a food web starting from producer organisms (such as grass or algae which produce their own food via photosynthesis) and ending at an apex predator species (like grizzly bears or killer whales), de ...

in the wetland is basically well balanced as it has both deep water and shallow water characteristics and the ecosystem is stated to be

''almost self sufficient and self-regulating.''

A Scientific study of the food chain has brought out the following sequence of facts. * Sunlight, pH, inorganic salts, nutrients and dissolved gases are the main

abiotic In biology and ecology, abiotic components or abiotic factors are non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems. Abiotic factors and the phenomena associated with them under ...

components of the wetland ecosystems with the organic matter caused by the death and decay of animals and plants accumulating at the bottom of the lake *

Decomposition Decomposition or rot is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is e ...

at the bottom of the lake takes place due to a variety of

heterotrophic A heterotroph (; ) is an organism that cannot produce its own food, instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon, mainly plant or animal matter. In the food chain, heterotrophs are primary, secondary and tertiary consumers, but ...

microbes A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...

such as

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometr ...

actinomycetes The Actinomycetales is an order of Actinomycetota. A member of the order is often called an actinomycete. Actinomycetales are generally gram-positive and anaerobic and have mycelia in a filamentous and branching growth pattern. Some actinomycete ...

and

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

;

Aspergillus ' () is a genus consisting of several hundred mold species found in various climates worldwide. ''Aspergillus'' was first catalogued in 1729 by the Italian priest and biologist Pier Antonio Micheli. Viewing the fungi under a microscope, Mic ...

sp.,

Rhizopus ''Rhizopus'' is a genus of common saprophytic fungi on plants and specialized parasites on animals. They are found in a wide variety of organic substances, including "mature fruits and vegetables", jellies, syrups, leather, bread, peanuts, and ...

sp.,

Curvularia ''Curvularia'' is a genus of hyphomycete (mold) fungi which can be pathogens but also act as beneficial partners of many plant species. They are common in soil. Most ''Curvularia'' species are found in tropical regions, though a few are found in ...

sp.,

Paecilomyces ''Paecilomyces'' is a genus of fungi. A number of species in this genus are plant pathogens. Several of the entomopathogenic species, such as "''Paecilomyces fumosoroseus''" have now been placed in the genus '' Isaria'': in the order Hypocreale ...

sp.,

Saprolegnia ''Saprolegnia'' is a genus of water moulds often called cotton moulds because of the characteristic white or grey fibrous patches they form. Current taxonomy puts ''Saprolegnia'' as a genus of the heterokonts in the order Saprolegniales. Habits ...

sp. etc. are main species causing the decomposition * The producers of organic matter are the

eutrophic Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytoplan ...

green

plants Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclude ...

and some photosynthetic

; the rooted submerged, floating and emergent hydrophytes being the Typha sp.,

Eleocharis ''Eleocharis'' is a virtually cosmopolitan genus of 250 or more species of flowering plants in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. The name is derived from the Greek words ἕλειος (''heleios''), meaning "marsh dweller," and χάρις (''charis'' ...

sp.,

Sagittaria ''Sagittaria'' is a genus of about 303. Sagittaria Linnaeus
''

Nymphaea sp., Potamogeton sp.,

Vallisneria ''Vallisneria'' (named in honor of Antonio Vallisneri) is a genus of freshwater aquatic plant, commonly called eelgrass, tape grass or vallis. The genus is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Europe, and Nor ...

sp.,

Eichhornia ''Eichhornia'', commonly called water hyacinths, was a polyphyletic genus of the aquatic flowering plants family Pontederiaceae. Since it was consistently recovered in three independent lineages, it has been sunk into '' Pontederia'', togethe ...

sp.,

Lemna ''Lemna'' is a genus of free-floating aquatic plants referred to by the common name "duckweed". They are morphologically divergent members of the arum family Araceae. These rapidly growing plants have found uses as a model system for studies in ...

sp. etc. and minute, floating or suspended lower plants like

filamentous algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular micr ...

diatoms A diatom (New Latin, Neo-Latin ''diatoma''), "a cutting through, a severance", from el, διάτομος, diátomos, "cut in half, divided equally" from el, διατέμνω, diatémno, "to cut in twain". is any member of a large group com ...

chlorococcales Chlorococcales is a formerly recognized order of green algae in the class Chlorophyceae. , the type family Chlorococcaceae was placed in the order Chlamydomonadales. Conventionally, many groups of coccoid green algae were lumped in the order Ch ...

and flagellates. *

Herbivores A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

such as the mollusks,

crustaceans Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean gro ...

, rotifers and some

insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...

are the primary consumers which feed directly on plants. * Plant remains and organic matter nourish detritivores like the

Chironomidae The Chironomidae (informally known as chironomids, nonbiting midges, or lake flies) comprise a family of nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. Many specie ...

sp., mollusks, mites, some

and small fishes * Marginal rooted

macrophytes Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments ( saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...

are consumed by

mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...

such as buffaloes,

cows Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

etc. which frequent the shores of the lake * Hydrophytes are also the food source of some birds *

Carnivores A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other so ...

like the Predator beetles and bugs,

dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threa ...

are the secondary consumers which feed on

, mollusks, rotifers and

. Carnivorous fishes also belong to this category * Large carnivorous fishes and birds are the

tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

consumers which feed on small fishes and insects. * Top most consumer level is that of the human being and the fish eating birds, which feed mainly on fishes

Adverse impacts on the wetland

Over the years several adverse impacts on the quality of the wetland have been reported. Some of the important ones which invited remedial actions are: * Acute problems of siltation from the adjoining barren and fragile hills. Bare hills of the catchment are subject to continuous erosion leading to shrinkage of wetland area. * Unwarranted interference with the resident and migratory birds * Unauthorized fishing and poaching of wildlife causing damage to species * Increase in effluents from industrializatation in the upstream area of the wetland, such as the Fertilizer plant at Nangal and Thermal Power Plant at Ropar * Effluents of chemical pollutants like agrochemical residues run off, industrial effluents and sewage from some towns in the upper reaches of the wetland * Growth of Invasive weeds

Restoration measures

The Punjab State Council for Science & Technology has evolved several conservation programmes with support from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoE&F) of the Govt of India. Some of the programmes implemented include mass awareness campaigns and promotion of public participation in the wetland conservation. A few of the measures planned and under various stages of implementation are: * Afforestation and soil conservation in the highly erosion prone catchment areas of the wetland, * To erect chain-link fencing of strategic areas of the wetland to prevent exploitation of vital wetland resources and prevent encroachments of the wetland * detailed survey, including remote sensing survey and preparation of comprehensive maps * Detailed taxonomic studies of plant and animal species * Introduce fish species sustain fragile relationship between the fish level and the other biotic resources like birds and primary producers and to set up new fish seed farms in addition to refurbish the existing ponds. * Economic assessment

Gallery

File:Python molurus molurus 2.jpg, Indian python ( Python molurus molurus, Near threatened species) File:Sycomoros old.jpg,

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extendi ...

tree or fig tree File:Konnamaram.JPG, Golden Shower Tree (Cassia fistula) File:Semal (Bombax ceiba)- Trunk of a Young tree in Kolkata W IMG 9725.jpg, Bombax ceiba (Cotton tree) File:Wallago attu 1.jpg,

Wallago attu ''Wallago attu'' is a freshwater catfish of the family Siluridae, native to South and Southeast Asia. It is commonly known as helicopter catfish or wallago catfish. It has known by various names in different regions and languages, such as Borali(� ...

, a species of catfish File:Megalaima haemacephala 6238.jpg, Coppersmith barbet (Megalaima haemacephala) File:Geoclemys hamiltonii.jpg, Geoclemys hamiltonii (spotted pond turtle) File:Migratory birds at Ropar Wetland 07.jpg, Migratory birds at Ropar Wetland -January 2018 File:Migratory birds at Ropar Wetland 03.jpg, Migratory birds at Ropar Wetland File:Migratory birds at Ropar Wetland 01.jpg, Migratory birds at Ropar Wetland File:Migratory birds at Ropar Wetland 02.jpg, Migratory birds at Ropar Wetland File:Ropar Wetland 02.jpg, Ropar Wetland -Dec, 2017 File:Ropar Wetland 03.jpg, Ropar Wetland - Dec, 2017

References

{{Authority control Wetlands of India Ramsar sites in India Landforms of Punjab, India Lakes of Punjab, India Constructed wetlands Reservoirs in India Tourist attractions in Punjab, India

Access

History

Anglo - Sikh treaty

Topography

Hydrology

Water quality

Flora and fauna

Flora

Aquafauna

Avifauna

Fauna

Food chain

Adverse impacts on the wetland

Restoration measures

Gallery

See also

References