Abstract
When barley straw and deciduous leaf litter decompose aerobically in water, inhibitors are released that suppress the growth of nuisance algae. Barley straw has been widely used for algal control in small, shallow lakes and we review the advantages and disadvantages of the method. It is particularly effective at promoting the switch from algal to macrophyte domination. Despite its cheapness and apparent safety in the short tern, however, the use of barley straw requires considerable management effort and the long-term ecological safety of such un-natural litter inputs is unkown. We therefore recommend it to lake managers primarily as a short-term measure. Deciduous leaf litter from a range of woody species can suppress the growth of Chlorella and Microcystis very effectively in laboratory bioassays and, in field trials with medium-sized ponds, the addition of leaf litter produced significant inhibition of the filamentous alga Cladophora glomerata. We followed the development of algal inhibitory activity over 2.5 years with freshly fallen oak leaves placed in a large tank of aerated water and using Chlorella as the test species. Two periods of inhibitor release were identified: 4–90 days (early phase) when soluble, relatively stable inhibitors were present in tank liquor, probably generated from oxidized tannins; and 120–900+ days (late phase) when inhibitors were relatively unstable in solution and were associated primarily with fine particulate organic matter (FPOM). Late phase inhibitors may, as suggested for barley straw, be generated during the oxidative breakdown of lignin. The prolonged and powerful anti-algal properties of these natual litter inputs offer possibilities for low-effort, sustainable management of lakes and catchments so as to reduce the problem excessive algal growth.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bärlocher, E, 1992. Effects of drying and freezing autumn leaves on leaching and colonization by aquatic hyphomycetes. Freshwater Biol. 28: 1–7.
Barrett, P. R. E, J. C. Curnow and J. W. Littlejohn, 1996. The control of diaom and cyanobacterial blooms in reservoirs using barley straw. Hydrobiologia 340: 307–311.
Brierley, B. and D. Harper, 1999. Ecological principles for management techniques in deeper reservoirs. Hydrohiologia 395/396 ( Dev. Hydrobiol. 136 ): 335–353.
Daldorph, P. W. G., 1999. A reservoir in management-induced transition between ecological states. Hydrobiologia 395/396 ( Dev. Hydrobiol. 136 ): 325–333.
Everall, N. C. and D. R. Lees, 1996. The use of barley-straw to control general and blue-green algal growth in a Derbyshire reservoir. Wat. Res. 30: 269–276.
Gibson. M. T., I. M. Welch, P. R. E Barrett and I. Ridge, 1990. Barley straw as an inhibitor of algal growth 11: laboratory studies. J. Appl. Phycol. 2: 241–48.
Hussein-Ayoub, S. M. and L. K. Yankov, 1985. Algicidal properties of tannins. Fitoterapia 56: 227–229.
Newman, J. R., 1994. Control of algae with straw. Information sheet 3, Centre for Aquatic Plant Management, Reading, RG4 0TH, UK.
Newman, J. R. and P. R. F. Barrett, 1993. Control of Microeystis aeruginosa by decomposing barley straw. J. Aquatic Plant Manag. 31: 203–206.
Newman, J. R., P. R. F. Barrett and G. Cave, 1999. The use of barley straw to control algal growth in drainage ditches: an ecological survey. In Harpley, J. (ed.), Nature Conservation and the Management of Drainage System Habitat, in press.
Pillinger, J. M., J. A. Cooper and I. Ridge, 1994. Role of phenolic compounds in the antialgal activity of barley straw. J. Chem. Ecol. 20: 1557–1569.
Pillinger, J. M., I. Gilmour and I. Ridge, 1995. Comparison of the antialgal acitivity of brown-rotted and white-rotted wood and in situ analysis of lignin. J. Chem. Ecol. 21: 1113–1125.
Ridge, I. and P. R. F. Barrett, 1992. Algal control with barley straw. Aspects Appl. Biol. 29: 457–62.
Ridge, I. and I. M. Pillinger, 1996. Towards understanding the nature of algal inhibitors from barley straw. Hydrobiologia 340: 30 1305.
Ridge, I., J. M. Pillinger and J. Walters, 1995. Alleviating the problems of excessive algal growth. In: Harper, D. M. and A. J. D. Ferguson (cds), The Ecological Basis for River Management, John Wiley, Chichester: 211–218.
Welch, I. M., P. R. F. Barrett, M. T. Gibson and I. Ridge, 1990. Barley straw as an inhibitor of algal growth I: studies in the Chesterfield Canal. J. Appl. Phycol. 2: 231–239.
Wildgoose, W., 1994. Barley straw and its effects on ornamental fish and algae. Koi Health Q. 3: 19–23.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this paper
Cite this paper
Ridge, I., Walters, J., Street, M. (1999). Algal growth control by terrestrial leaf litter: a realistic tool?. In: Harper, D.M., Brierley, B., Ferguson, A.J.D., Phillips, G. (eds) The Ecological Bases for Lake and Reservoir Management. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 136. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3282-6_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3282-6_16
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-5251-3
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-3282-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive