Is leylandii ok for a pond ramp?

[jpscloud]

I've got lots of leylandii poles and brushwood left over and my pond really needs a few decent ramps - is it ok to submerge leylandii in a wildlife pond or will it affect the chemistry?

[tom00_uk]

has it been well seasoned or is it still full off sap?

[Deb London]

Since my pond has plenty of life in it, even with bits of leylandii constantly dropping into it (resin, "twigs" and all) I'd say yes, go for it.

[jpscloud]

Hi Tom, it's new and full of sap. Cheers Deb - sounds like I can give it a go!

[Dogghound]

Dont put it in your pond, or you will start to see a reduction in the water quality. The decaying of the bark, sap and other organic material on the logs will quickly lead to eutrophication and acidification. None treated timber or stone would be best.

[Deb London]

Sorry didn't mean to give bad advice. I say as I see.

[King Edward]

I can't really see a decaying log causing much eutrophication - wood has very low nutrient content for one thing, and the rate of decay would be very slow anyway. Maybe it would cause acidification and have a negative effect overall, but I doubt the added nutrients would be much to blame.

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by King Edward

I can't really see a decaying log causing much eutrophication - wood has very low nutrient content for one thing, and the rate of decay would be very slow anyway. Maybe it would cause acidification and have a negative effect overall, but I doubt the added nutrients would be much to blame.

Can you expand on this?

Your suggesting a decaying conifer in a pond would not cause any nutrient input?

[King Edward]

Of course it would add some nutrients, but fairly slowly as it decays. The nutrient content of wood is very low, although fresh branches woud have more. It is, after all, quite normal for many ponds to have quite substantial amounts of leaves and branches falling into them on an ongoing basis. I lot would depend on the quantity of branches relative to the size of the pond.

I don't know whether it would have an overall negative effect, but I doubt that the nutrient content itself would be very significant (especially since most nutrients are likely to remain locked up in organic matter anyway).

[Dogghound]

It could potentially cause detrimental affects if the pond is small and exposed to sunlight/high temperatures. Decaying branches increase the nitrate particularly through leaf, sap and bark decay which can occur relatively quickly, although the wood itself would take longer to break down. Leylandii is usually made up of large amounts of needles on tightly packed branches this would pose a significant input to a small pond. I often find with conifer input is that you get an algal bloom and eutrophication period, then you get the following acidification which in some cases can result in the pond leveling out, however you would risk losing many species of invertebrates and amphibians (most of the common species avoid acidic waters other than palmate newts). Its up to the poster I guess, but I would not advise placing conifers into ponds.