EFFECTS OF YUCCA SHIDIGERA EXTRACT ON THE REDUCTION OF AMMONIA CONCENTRATION IN LAKE KOUMOUNDOUROU

摘要

Nitrogen related water pollution in aquatic systems is one of the most common problemsencountered worldwide nowadays. Different restoration practices have beentested to eliminate the impacts from eutrophication but no widely applicable methodologyhas been found until now. Extract of Yucca shidigera has been proved effectivein reducing ammonia in livestock industry and aquaculture but have not beenyet tested in freshwater ecosystems. In this study, the effects of yucca extract on thereduction of ammonia in Lake Koumoundourou have been investigated. Yucca extractwas added at various concentrations to experimental tanks containing lake water andsediment. The results show that yucca extract significantly reduced the concentrationof ammonia while other water quality parameters were relatively stable during theexperiment, except from dissolved oxygen. The study indicates that yucca extract as arestoration method can be promising but larger scale experiments should be conductedto validate this outcome.