Impact of crude oil pollution on species number and live standing herbaceous crop biomass

Summary The impact of crude oil spill on the number of plant species and the above-ground live standing crop biomass (AGLSCB) of a herbaceous plant community was assessed. The spillage had a devastating effect on the herbaceous community and especially on the component herbaceous annuals. At least 80–90% of the species were absent in the affected areas in comparison to nearby unaffected areas, most of these being annuals. Perennial species were generally less affected. The total herbaceous production for a period of 12 months in the polluted areas was 885.1 gm^–2 compared with 4860.7 gm^–2 for the unaffected areas. The average monthly production in the polluted areas was 73.8 gm^–2 compared with 405.0 gm^–2 for the unaffected areas.Dr Debojit Baruah is the senior author of this paper and he is a research scholar at Dibrugarh University. Dr Sarada K. Sarma is a Pofessor in the Botany Department of Guwahati University in Assam.