The Effects of Excess Nitrogen on Your Water

THE FROG BLOG

The Effects of Excess Nitrogen on Your Water

Nitrogen is abundant in nature and is an essential building block of life.  It is necessary for the production of tissue in living things and the growth of plant life.  It is an integral part of your aquatic ecosystem.   However, if the amount of nitrogen present is excessive, it can have an adverse effect causing many problems for pond owners.



Pond with a thick covering of watermeal.

Nitrogen helps plants to grow and is commonly present in many types of fertilizers applied on lawns and gardens as well as crops.  When applied, however, not all of the fertilizer will be utilized by the plant for which is was intended.  The excess fertilizer will runoff with rain water ending up in bodies of water such as ponds, lakes and streams.  Fertilizer has the same effect on aquatic plants as it does other plants.  It makes them grow.  The extra nutrients from the fertilizer can lead to harmful algae blooms and excessive aquatic plant growth in your water.  Besides being aesthetically unpleasing, the large algae blooms and excessive nuisance aquatic vegetation can cause many problems in the pond ecosystem.  For example, a pond that has watermeal or duckweed present can rapidly become entirely covered with the dense vegetation as in the picture above.   The thick covering diminishes light penetration which inhibits the growth of other plants.  This adversely effects habitat for aquatic animals by decimating their food supply.  Furthermore, the dense weed can deplete oxygen in the water which may result in a fish kills.

With the common use of fertilizers for lawns, gardens and agriculture, it can be difficult to mitigate the amount of excess nitrogen entering your water.  It is important to use fertilizers in the appropriate amounts and limit their use when possible.  Nitrogen is also present in animal waste, so limiting access of animals to your water can be helpful as well.  If your water develops a large bloom or excessive nuisance vegetation, take steps to control the growth and keep your water healthy.  There are many effective methods available, such as algaecides, herbicides and aeration systems.  AQUA DOC's Aquatic Specialists are available for on-site consultation to assess your water and recommend treatments.

If you have questions, please feel free to leave a comment.  We are here to help!

Here's to open waters!

~The Frogger Blogger

References:

http://www.pca.state.mn.us/index.php/view-document.html?gid=7939

http://extension.psu.edu/natural-resources/water/ponds/pond-management/pond-construction/pond-ecology

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/nitrogen.html