Benefits of Healthy Pond Plant Communities

Pond plants perform an amazing number of jobs that are important both to the health of the pond or lake and to humans who use them. Good management of aquatic plants is important to make sure that these jobs are achieved.

- Plant stems and leaves provide protective nursery areas for young fish. Small fish can easily move about and hide within the submerged 'forest', leaving larger, predatory fish behind.

- Aquatic insects use the plant stems and leaves for food and habitat. In turn, these insects are a primary source of food for fish and other wildlife.

- Plant leaves photosynthesize and put oxygen into the water column where it can by used by fish and other animals.

- The leaves of water lilies and other plants shade and cool the bottom of the lake.

- Flexible stems and leaves rock gently back and forth, absorbing wave energy which would otherwise wear away at the shoreline, causing shoreline erosion and sediment in the water.

- Dense networks of plant roots bind the sediment, thus reducing erosion. These roots also intercept groundwater and remove contaminants before they are transported into the overlying lake waters

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