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second edition • Nebraska Pond Management • 61 during a year. This treatment is preferred over the use of alum or gypsum since it can increase a pond's productivity instead of decreasing it. Hay bales shouldn't be used in ponds with a history of fish kills resulting from low oxygen levels unless an aeration system is present. Manure or weeds can also be used by utilizing similar application techniques and concerns as with hay. Aquatic Vegetation Management Although too much aquatic vegetation may interfere with fishing, boating, and swimming, vegetation is a very important component of the aquatic environment. It provides food, nesting sites, shade, and cover for a multitude of aquatic organisms. It also oxygenates the water and helps minimize shoreline erosion and wave action. Aquatic plants can become established naturally in a pond or they can be transplanted (see page 40). In some cases, excessive amounts of aquatic vegetation can ruin fishing and upset the balance between bass and bluegill by providing too many places for young bluegills to hide and avoid predators. Insufficient bass predation on bluegills will ultimately result in an excessive number of small, slow-growing bluegills, which will raid bass nests and limit the number of bass produced. Some species of aquatic plants can become so thick that plant diversity and associated wildlife diversity are both drastically reduced. Occasionally, die-offs of overabundant vegetation occur following cloudy weather, run-off events that muddy the water, or at the end of the growing season. If these die-offs are substantial, decomposition of the dead vegetation can deplete oxygen levels, which can stress or even kill fish. Aquatic Vegetation Identification There are four major types of aquatic vegetation, classified by their growing patterns: algae, floating plants, submersed plants, and emergent plants. Since the effect each can have on a pond and the best methods of controlling them differ, it is imperative that you correctly identify the vegetation type(s) if a problem should occur. For some control methods, such as the use of chemicals, it is necessary to identify the plant species in order to purchase the correct herbicide. Algae are primitive plants without true leaves or flowers. Many are individual, free-floating, microscopic plants (planktonic) that can turn a pond green, making it look like pea soup or as if paint is floating on the surface. Others (filamentous) are found together in clumps or strands that are often attached to the bottom or aquatic structure. Some species of planktonic algae can be toxic or cause water to have a bad taste or odor. Several blue-green, bloom-forming The presence of aquatic vegetation is good for your pond. Hay Used for Settling Pond Sediment Hay Used for Settling Pond Sediment Blue-green Algae (toxic) Blue-green Algae (toxic)