Lake Rawa Pening

Last updated
Rawa Pening
Rawa Pening Central Java.jpg
Rawa Pening in 2008
Indonesia Java relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
Rawa Pening
Coordinates 7°17′S110°26′E / 7.283°S 110.433°E / -7.283; 110.433
Basin  countriesIndonesia
Surface area2,500 to 2,670 hectares (25.0 to 26.7 km2; 9.7 to 10.3 sq mi)

Rawa Pening (literally meaning 'Clear Swamp', from the Javanese Bening) is a lake in the Ambarawa Basin in Central Java, Indonesia. It serves as a source of power, irrigation, and flood control, and is used for fishing. Due partly to the high numbers of aquatic plants, it may dry out by 2021.

Contents

Location and description

Rawa Pening is located in the volcanic Ambarawa Basin in Central Java, [1] between Ambarawa and Salatiga. It covers a total area of 2,500 to 2,670 hectares (25.0 to 26.7 km2; 9.7 to 10.3 sq mi). [2] [3] It is shallow and swamplike, [1] with muddy banks. [4]

History

Rawa Pening is estimated to have been formed between 18,000 and 13,500 BC after a period of increased precipitation. It reached its largest size from 11,000 to 9,000 BC but shrank until it reached its current size around 6,000 BC. [5]

To protect Rawa Pening, the local government has enacted a green belt policy. Several establishments, such as the tourist attraction Kampoeng Rawa, were controversial owing to their construction within this belt. [6]

Role

Fishing is common on Rawa Pening Fishermen on Rawa Pening.jpg
Fishing is common on Rawa Pening

One of the major roles of Rawa Pening is as a source of hydroelectricity, with a power station located on the Tuntang River near the lake. Fishing is common as a source of supplementary income, and the water from the lake irrigates nearby rice fields. It has also been cited as being used for flood control. [4]

Plant infestation

Many species of aquatic plants are found at Rawa Pening Rawa Pening Plants.jpg
Many species of aquatic plants are found at Rawa Pening

Numerous species of aquatic plants live in Rawa Pening, including Panicum repens , [7] Eichhornia crassipes , Salvinia cucullata , [8] and Hydrilla verticillata . [3] Estimates of the total number of species vary, from 20 in 1949 to 19 aquatic and 71 semi-aquatic species in 1972. [9] According to Soenarto Hardjosuwarno, P. repens is one of the main contributors to the formation of floating islands in the lake, [7] with M. Soerjani noting that E. crassipes and S. cucullata also contribute. [8] The aquatic plants, such as H. verticillatta, take root in a large amount of peat (in some places measuring 2 metres (6.6 ft) thick), causing more peat to gather. Eventually, terrestrial plants take root in the floating islands as well. [10]

According to Tri Retnaningsih Soeprobowati, a researcher at Diponegoro University in Semarang, Rawa Pening could become dry by 2021 due to increasing sedimentation. She reports a total rate of deposition of 270 to 880 kilograms (600 to 1,940 lb) per day, averaging 780 tonnes yearly, [2] with the water level dropping 29% since 1989. [3] The overabundance of aquatic plants has been blamed, especially E. crassipes. As such, there are calls for a culling of the E. crassipes population to 20% by 2030. [3] Other suggestions include the introduction of grass carp to control the plant population and the use of herbicides as last resorts. [2] [3] The destruction of H. verticillatta had earlier been attempted beginning in 1932, originally using mechanical methods but later switching to herbicides, These efforts were discontinued in the 1960s. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weed control</span> Botanical component of pest control for plants

Weed control is a type of pest control, which attempts to stop or reduce growth of weeds, especially noxious weeds, with the aim of reducing their competition with desired flora and fauna including domesticated plants and livestock, and in natural settings preventing non native species competing with native species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Sumatra</span> Province of Indonesia

South Sumatra is a province of Indonesia, located in the southeast of the island of Sumatra. The capital and largest city of the province is the city of Palembang. The province borders the provinces of Jambi to the north, Bengkulu to the west and Lampung to the south, as well a maritime border with the Bangka Belitung Islands to the east. It is the largest province in the island of Sumatra, and it is slightly smaller than Portugal, the department of Boquerón in Paraguay or the U.S. state of Maine. The Bangka Strait in the east separates South Sumatra and the island of Bangka, which is part of the Bangka Belitung Islands province. The province has an area of 91,592.43 km2 (35,364 sq mi) and had a population of 8,467,432 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid-2023 was 8,743,522. The province is rich in natural resources, such as petroleum, natural gas and coal. The province is inhabited by many different malay sub ethnic groups, with Palembangese being largest ethnic group. Most speak the Palembang language, which is mutually intelligible to both Indonesian and local Palembang Malay. Other ethnic groups include the Javanese, Sundanese, Minangkabau and Chinese. Most are concentrated in urban areas and are largely immigrants from other parts of Indonesia.

<i>Hydrilla</i> Species of plant

Hydrilla (waterthyme) is a genus of aquatic plant, usually treated as containing just one species, Hydrilla verticillata, though some botanists divide it into several species. It is native to the cool and warm waters of the Old World in Asia, Africa and Australia, with a sparse, scattered distribution; in Australia from Northern Territory, Queensland, and New South Wales.

<i>Pistia</i> Species of aquatic flowering plant in the family Araceae

Pistia is a genus of aquatic plants in the arum family, Araceae. It is the sole genus in the tribe Pistieae which reflects its systematic isolation within the family. The single species it comprises, Pistia stratiotes, is often called water cabbage, water lettuce, Nile cabbage, or shellflower. Its native distribution is uncertain but is probably pantropical; it was first scientifically described from plants found on the Nile near Lake Victoria in Africa. It is now present, either naturally or through human introduction, in nearly all tropical and subtropical fresh waterways and is considered an invasive species as well as a mosquito breeding habitat. The specific epithet is derived from a Greek word, στρατιώτης, meaning "soldier", which references the sword-shaped leaves of some plants in the Stratiotes genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phayao Lake</span> Lake in Thailand

Kwan Phayao is a lake in Phayao Province, northern Thailand. Kwan, a word from the northern Thai language, means 'lake' or 'large swamp'. The shape of the lake is a nearly-half-circle-moon shape. Phayao Lake is the largest freshwater lake in the northern region and the fourth largest in the country, with a depth of 1.5 metres, and covers an area of about 1,980 hectares. There are about 50 species of fish in Phayao Lake.

<i>Cirsium arvense</i> Species of flowering plant

Cirsium arvense is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native throughout Europe and western Asia, northern Africa and widely introduced elsewhere. The standard English name in its native area is creeping thistle. It is also commonly known as Canada thistle and field thistle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Y. B. Mangunwijaya</span> Indonesian architect, writer, religious leader

Yusuf Bilyarta Mangunwijaya, was an Indonesian architect, writer, and Catholic religious leader. He was popularly known as Romo Mangun.

<i>Pontederia crassipes</i> Aquatic plant native to the Amazon basin

Pontederia crassipes, commonly known as common water hyacinth, is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive outside its native range. It is the sole species of the subgenus Oshunae within the genus Pontederia. Anecdotally, it is known as the "terror of Bengal" due to its invasive growth tendencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semarang Regency</span> Regency in Indonesia

Semarang is a landlocked regency in Central Java province in Indonesia. It covers an area of 1,019.27 km2 and had a population of 930,727 at the 2010 census and 1,053,094 at the 2020 census; the official estimate at mid 2023 was 1,080,648, comprising 538,117 males and 542,531 females. These figures exclude the independent cities of Semarang and Salatiga, which are administratively separate from the regency. The regency's capital is Ungaran, which lies immediately to the south of Semarang City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kudzu in the United States</span> Plant invasion

Kudzu is an invasive plant species in the United States, introduced from Asia with devastating environmental consequences, earning it the nickname "the vine that ate the South". It has been spreading rapidly in the Southern United States, "easily outpacing the use of herbicide, spraying, and mowing, as well increasing the costs of these controls by $6 million annually". Estimates of the vine's spread vary, from the United States Forest Service's 2015 estimate of 2,500 acres per year to the Department of Agriculture's estimate of as much as 150,000 acres annually.

<i>Solanum tampicense</i> Species of flowering plant

Solanum tampicense, also known as wetland nightshade, aquatic soda apple, and scrambling nightshade, is a perennial in the Solanaceae or Nightshade Family. It can exist as a vine, tree, or shrub and is native to the West Indies and Central America. It is classified as a noxious weed by the United States Department of Agriculture and by several states and is known as an invasive species in the state of Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid</span> Herbicide

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula Cl2C6H3OCH2CO2H. It is usually referred to by its ISO common name 2,4-D. It is a systemic herbicide that kills most broadleaf weeds by causing uncontrolled growth, but most grasses such as cereals, lawn turf, and grassland are relatively unaffected.

<i>Panicum repens</i> Species of plant

Panicum repens is a species of grass known by many common names, including torpedo grass, creeping panic, panic rampant, couch panicum, wainaku grass, quack grass, dog-tooth grass, and bullet grass. Its exact native range is obscure. Sources suggest that the grass is native to "Africa and/or Asia", "Europe or Australia", "Eurasia", "Australia", "Europe, Asia, and Africa", or other specific regions, including the Mediterranean, Israel, and Argentina. It is present in many places as an introduced species and often a noxious weed. It has been called "one of the world's worst weeds."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marco Kartodikromo</span> Indonesian journalist and writer

Marco Kartodikromo, also known by his pen name Mas Marco, was an Indonesian journalist and writer.

<i>Salvinia minima</i> Species of aquatic plant

Salvinia minima is a species of aquatic, floating fern that grows on the surface of still waterways. It is usually referred to as common salvinia or water spangles. Salvinia minima is native to South America, Mesoamerica, and the West Indies and was introduced to the United States in the 1920s–1930s. It is classified as an invasive species internationally and can be detrimental to native ecosystems. This species is similar to but should not be confused with giant salvinia, Salvinia molesta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquatic weed harvester</span>

An aquatic weed harvester, also known as a water mower, mowing boat and weed cutting boat, is an aquatic machine specifically designed for inland watercourse management to cut and harvest underwater weeds, reeds and other aquatic plant life. The action of removing aquatic plant life in such a manner has been referred to as "aquatic harvesting".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kampoeng Rawa</span> Attraction in Ambarawa, Indonesia

Kampoeng Rawa is a tourist attraction located within the green belt around Lake Rawa Pening of Ambarawa in Central Java, Indonesia. Opened in August 2012, it is owned and operated by twelve groups of farmers and fishermen who were funded by the Artha Prima Credit Union. It is intended to improve the welfare of local farmers and fishermen while promoting an understanding of the lake's ecology. Facilities include a floating restaurant, pendopo, crafts centre, fishing area, and docks. During holidays the site may be visited by several thousand people. It has been challenged for its lack of permission to build in the green belt and the possible ecological impact.

Atmaram Bhairav Joshi was an Indian agricultural scientist and academic, known for his contributions to the field of wheat and other crop breeding. He was the vice-chancellor of Mahatma Phule Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Rahuri and the chairman of the Research Advisory Committee of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri in 1975.

Aquatic plant management involves the science and methodologies used to control invasive and non-invasive aquatic plant species in waterways. Methods used include spraying herbicide, biological controls, mechanical removal as well as habitat modification. Preventing the introduction of invasive species is ideal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyanazine</span> Chemical compound

Cyanazine is a herbicide that belongs to the group of triazines. Cyanazine inhibits photosynthesis and is therefore used as a herbicide.

References

Footnotes
  1. 1 2 Sémah et al. 2004, p. 64.
  2. 1 2 3 Nugrahanti 2011, Rawa Pening.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Nugrahanti 2011, 2030 Rawa Pening.
  4. 1 2 UNEP, Role of Rawa Pening.
  5. Sémah et al. 2004, p. 85.
  6. Herusansono 2012, Kampoeng Rawa.
  7. 1 2 Siregar & Soemarwoto 1976, p. 211.
  8. 1 2 Soerjani 1976, p. 63.
  9. Soerjani 1976, p. 64.
  10. Soerjani 1976, pp. 64–65.
  11. Soerjani 1976, p. 75.
Bibliography