Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Quarry Contest 2010

....or sediment.

OK, combine Less Suspended Sediment, with lower water levels...what would that mean to rooted vegetation?

Going back to my increased water clarity statement, it will allow the plants to grow in "virgin" soil that was in what used to be deeper water, that hasn't had the nutrients sucked out of it by plant growth in previous years.

What would stir up the sediment? If water was infiltrating thru cracks in the limestone, wouldn't those areas be clear of sediment in the first place?

Maybe this is too simple (but simplification seems to be what you are encouraging with your last few hints!), but it seems to me that:

* lower water and less water exchange
* combined with less suspended sediment
* means the sediment is settling on the bottom
* and providing a rather nice rooting/growing environment for the Sago
* therefore the weed simply took off during the drought

Once the water level returned to normal:

* the exchange of water increased and
* there was more natural current within the lake so
* the sediments started moving around again (into suspension)
* there was deeper water over the thriving weed beds and
* less light was getting to those areas as a pure function of depth and also due to increased suspension of sediment (is turbidity the right term to use here?) so
* the Sago just couldn't grow well any longer

Do I get any points or is it time for the mercy killing angle with me??!!

Too funny!!!

Everytime that it rains, there's surface runoff that comes from the association lawns and rocky edges. This would bring in all sorts of limestone debris. I was there after a rain last fall and the water turned gray. Even though a quarry gets it's water primarily from groundwater, it is subject to the same sedimentary challenges when it rains. What else might come off of the association lawns?

Fertilizer and probably some dirt/silt.

And weed killer!!!!

Very basic here - not using Bruce's hint.

Water , Dirt (nutrients) and Light + plants = plant growth. During a drawdown (intentional or natural) you get less water with increased nutrients and more available light. When you get additional water it is loaded with extra nutrients from the exposed soils.

Geeeeze - 3 posts while I was typing.

Good explanation and indeed very simple to understand. You could be a lawyer!

This thread continues to be a lot of fun to follow. I imagine you guys have a pretty substantial audience locked in and subscribed to this one.

less water and longer sunlight exposure. Prime reasons not to fertilize in the summer.

Very good. Now employ the "quick-start" theory.

Imagine the fifth year of a drought. The entire basin (which is only 12 feet deep) is awash with light. A ubiquitous plant like sago has been present in limited numbers the previous fall. It takes off in April. What happens to the available nutrients?

The nutrients get used up quickly by the increased plant load. But, they'll be replenished by any rain due to them leaching out of and washing off of the surrounding lawns.

They get used in growth of the weeds and escalate growth, perhaps beyond a normal growth rate. You've basically dumped "miracle grow" into the water, I'm thinking.

Didn't the number of houses surrounding the pond increase by more than double between 2003 and 2006? If that's the case, then the corresponding nutrients washing into the pond would significally increase as well. Forget about rainwater and surface run-off, if you put in a new lawn, you really need to pour the water to it (IIRC 1"/week?), and the water would find it's way into the pond thru groundwater, bringing along some of the starter fertilizer as well.

Interesting point. And true as well.

When an agressive rooted plant like sago gets off to a quick start, it will literally consume all of the nutrients. What does this do to the single celled algae?

so yer saying its all about the turbidity?

oh, and following on my question from last night, forget all those guys i wondered where they are (and anybody i forgot...like cecil, etc....) this quiz dont need em....TODD and ESSHUP you guys are doing a GREAT JOB

Clear water - more light to the rooted plants. They reach their biological limit and use up the nutrients. Nothing for the plankton to consume – less plankton clearer water. A real circle of light. Then when the nutrients are used up the rooted plants die back. They start to decompose adding nutrients back for the plankton to grow again cutting off the light and less rooted plants.

...or lack thereof.

Low water + low inorganic sediment inflow (drought) = increased sunlight penetration to bottom substrate.

Increased sunlight penetration to substrate means ideal conditions for submergent vegetation.

Significant growth of agressive submergent vegetation means decreased available nutrients available for single celled algae.

Decreased amount of single celled algae means Increased clarity. (increased or decreased)

Fill in the blank.

No food = you die. So you're saying that a more complex organism such as sago as compared to single celled algea is more effecient and better at utilizing nutrients, or are you saying that there are more nutrients in the pond substrate vs. dissolved in the water?

increased

Oo, oo, increased!

Nice.