Keenjhar Lake is one of the major fresh water reservoirs located at Thatta district of Sindh province, spread on area of about 140 km2
.
It has been designated as Ramsar site in 1976 and a wildlife sanctuary in 1977. The Lake is a vital wetland area of great ecological,
biological and economic significance. It is a major source of domestic and industrial water supplies to Karachi metropolitan. It is an
important breeding and wintering area for a wide variety of birds, reptiles and mammals. Local communities especially fishermen are
dependent on this important wetland for their sustenance. A detailed study was undertaken by “the Indus for All Programme of WWFPakistan” during 2006, 2007 and 2008 to record and document floral diversity and delineate the plant communities in and around
Keenjhar Lake. A total of 7 plant communities were identified which represent a variety of habitats around the Keenjhar Lake.
Significant findings during the survey included Luffa echinata, Populus euphratica, and Tamarix sarenensis which were recorded for
the first time at this site. A new Sporobolous species was also documented which is a new addition to our knowledge. Keenjhar Lake
exhibits a variety of habitats due to the presence of freshwater and its surrounding sandy, rocky and hilly areas. The small hills in the
vicinity of Lake present an entirely different flora compared to that found in the low lying areas near water margins. In spite of being a
freshwater Lake, patches of saline land are present at various points of its periphery that add to habitat diversity. The study presents
the floristic and phytosociological details of Keenjhar lake area.
Ghulam Akbar, Surayya Khatoon, M. Imran, Nuzhat Rizwan, Muhammad Zafar Khan, Sadul Islam. (2010) FLORISTIC AND PHYTO-SOCIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF VEGETATION OF KEENJHAR LAKE AND SURROUNDING AREA (THATTA, SINDH), PAKISTAN, , Volume 7, Issue 3.
