Pond Ecology and the Role of Aquatic Plants

small farm ponds ranging in size from a fraction of an acre up to 5 Acres dot the landscape of Pennsylvania numbering in the hundreds of thousands most of these ponds were built many decades ago to supply water for Farms but today they are more often used for recreation like fishing Wildlife viewing swimming or simply adding aesthetic Beauty to a rural home site aquatic plants occur to some degree in all ponds but over half of the pond owners surveyed in Pennsylvania felt that their Pond had too much aquatic plant growth as a result many Pond owners seek methods to control The Unwanted growth of aquatic plants if not done carefully some of these methods can have disastrous and unattended results for the pond or other nearby Water Resources the purpose of this video is to highlight the importance and benefits of aquatic plants and algae along withit strategies to control excessive growth when it does occur aquatic plants are a vital part of any healthy pond ecosystem a pond with 20 to 30% of the bottom or surface covered with some type of aquatic vegetation is usually considered ideal Pond owners interested in fishing or Wildlife viewing might want slightly more vegetation while ponds used for swimming or Farm uses might want less besides their aesthetic Beauty plants and algae provide many benefits to the pond ecosystem The Roots help to prevent Muddy Water by stabilizing the pond bottom and Banks rooted plants also use nutrients that might otherwise be used by nuisance algae stems roots and leaves of aquatic plants serve as habitat for insects and other Pond life that in turn serve as food for fish and wildlife pond fish utilize weed areas to create nesting beds that provide cover for their young fish also feed on insects that are attracted to the leaves of underwater plants the amount and type of vegetation will affect the number and size of fish abundant vegetation will allow many young fish to survive while sparse vegetation will allow large fish to find and consume most of the small fish many other types of wildlife utilize aquatic plants in and around the pond emergent plants around the pond Edge serve as an important nesting and feeding area for ducks geese redwing black birds and other Wetland Birds species mammals like muskrats and deer will feed on plants in the shallow portions of the pond and amphibians and reptiles like turtles salamanders and snakes rely on pond plants for food and shelter even colorful insects like dragonflies and damsel flies will perch on emerging plants around the pond Edge providing enjoyable viewing for the pond owner so aquatic plants analy provide many benefits to the pond and its owner the trick is to provide the optimum amount of plants for the intended Pond use while preventing overabundant