Re: Afghanistan

[Shireen Gonzaga <whimbrel at comcast_net>]

I started wondering what kinds of aquatic plants
Charley would come across in Afghanistan, so I
did a search on google.

Not much information out there, unfortunately.
1) There was mention of Ruppia maritima (widgeon grass), at
   Abi-i-Estada, a large shallow alkaline lake, an important
   feeding/resting area for migratory birds. But this plant
   has an almost  world-wide distribution. (I've tried to grow
   it from submerged samples taken from a brackish marshland
   habitat in Delaware, the result was a brown gooey mess.)
   The reference website,
   www.icimod.org.sg/focus/biodiversity/afg_prot.htm,
   could not be accessed so I got this info from a cached page.

2) Lots of duckweed!
   Lemna trisulca Linnaeus
   Lemna minor Linnaeus
   Lemna aequinoctialis
   Documented in
   http://hua.huh.harvard.edu/china/mss/volume23/Lemnaceae-MO.reviewing.htm

Other stuff:
Overview of flora and fauna
   http://www.afghanistans.com/Information/PlantAnimal.htm

Important wetlands
   http://www.wetlands.org/inventory&/MiddleEastDir/AFGHANISTAN.htm
   http://www.ramsar.org/lib_dir_2_3.htm

Oh, and that aquatic plant club in Afghanistan you're looking for?
   This was the closest I could find, a discussion on hydroponics at
   http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/hydro/msg0322332511093.html

Fish in Afghanistan
   http://www.kal69.dial.pipex.com/890right.htm

Since so little is known about aquatic flora and fauna in
Afghanistan, it would be really interesting if you could
document and photograph what you see in the local streams,
rivers, and lakes. Maybe even bring back some samples
with you, and send it to a botanist for identification (don't
forget to send some moss to James Purchase! :-). That would
be a nice contribution to the body of knowledge about
aquatic ecosystems in Afghanistan.

If you want me to look around for some field guides or
similar literature for that region, and send it to you, let me
know. Many of the species should overlap with what's
found in northern India.

Oh, and Charley, bring me back some duckweed. ;-)

cheers,
    shireen

P.S. hey, try some birding too! Birds of Afghanistan checklist:
http://chartermi.net/~lauraerickson/AfghanistanChecklist.html

-- 
Shireen Gonzaga
Baltimore, MD