David Rives
This extraordinary ecosystem in far eastern India is a fascinating and fragile place. It gives us a glimpse of the endless genius of our Creator God!
On the far eastern edge of India there is an extraordinary lake. Well, the lake itself is large but otherwise typical except for what grows on it.
Loktak Lake is home to the world’s only floating National Park, which was established to protect the endangered dancing deer who currently are found nowhere else on earth.
So, how could a 15 square mile island park sustaining several hundred deer float? Well, this tropical area is so lush with plants that the combined organic matter forms a fungus mat. The roots help hold together floating Islands above the monsoon-flooded lake, supporting a flourishing grassy surface.
Now, as you can see, these mats form irregular islands. Some are large enough to build houses on top of, that is in addition to the huge deer-inhabited island. The lake’s waters are so rich in aquatic life that around 4,000 people live and fish on the lake.
Like icebergs, most of the organic material making up the mass of these islands lies below the surface of the water. The largest being over 6 feet thick.
Now, for hundreds of years, the local population has cared for and benefited from the fungus of these ring-shaped island. People tend them into that shape to maintain a sort of a fish farm in the center. In the past, during dry seasons, these mat islands would rest on or just above the lake bed where the roots could absorb fresh nutrients for the next year, But since the 1980s, the lake has been dammed up to provide a steady water supply to that area through the dry season.
Now, like other flood ecology sites, balance has to be achieved between the needs of the people downstream and the needs of the local ecosystem. Locals are working to support the ongoing health of their unique floating islands.
Loktak Lake reminds us of possibilities usually only imagined. This rarely visited corner of God’s creation shows us a fascinating glimpse into the diversity our Creator built into plant life as well as the astounding way in which ecosystems thrive
I’m David Rives. Truly, the heavens declare the glory of God.
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