Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Windbreak -- trees or shrubs

On leaf matter in your pond. Grinding insects do not gain significant nutrition from leaves, rather, they dine on the bacteria and fungi that populate the leaf surface. This is where the nutrients come from, not the leaves. The grinders are then taken by other insects, and then fish eat them. Thus the nutrition to your fish from leaves is measurable via the bacteria, and nutrition from the leaves themselves is negligable.

In experiments removing all leaf litter from covered waterways, and then netting the tops to discourage further leaf fall, it was found the food web did not change significantly at all. Grinders were replaced by insects that graze directly from substrate, and other filter feeders. The population of fish produced in a stream with no leaves was not compromised. The nutritional potential in the stream, the food chain, was not compromised.

What the.....

When making a shelter belt consider what other advantages might be gained from such a move. Why settle for only shelter...

Leaf fall will not significantly alter a waterbody one way or another. Pine needles will.

The acidifying effect of deciduous leaves is minimal. The leaves fall mainly as they are dead, dried leaves are more of a carbon source than nitrogen. They don't really break down till they are the dessert of grinding insects or fungi.

Nesting birds will add to bacterial diversity and add ferts to your pond for plankton growth.

Shade, erosion protection, trapping farm runoff (use VAM fungi innoculation on your trees, and not only will they trap runoff water, your trees will grow faster), habitat, nutritional cycling (provide surfaces for free floating bacteria then the bacteria get eaten).

I prefer deciduous because they replenish the land beneath themselves whereas pines strip it. And I like the sun in, in winter, and blocked in summer, how deciduous trees work.

You are obviously already familiar with many local trees there. Consider too, very important, a tree that can cope with wet feet.

I too suffer from too much study on one interest. Fun aye!