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Ponds
Quick answer
Clear snow from the ice to
ensure light can still enter the water, therefore allowing plants to
continue producing oxygen. If you're able, you can make a hole
in the ice but this may not make any difference.
Further
information
Frogs, and sometimes newts, may lie dormant at the bottom of ponds in winter.
Occasionally, in particularly icy spells, frogs can die of
'winterkill', where toxic gases (released in the pond through
natural decomposition of dead leaves) can not escape from the
pond due to the layer of ice and the water can be become
deoxygenated. Though this can be upsetting to
pond-owners this phenomenon is largely natural and will only
affect a very small percentage of the local frog population.
In your garden pond you can try and reduce the likelihood of
winterkill by trying to maintain oxygen levels in the pond.
Clear any fallen snow from the ice to ensure that plants can
still produce oxygen. It's also a good idea to prepare your pond
for winter by removing some sediment and debris (though leave
some for the frogs to bury down in) and adding more oxygenating
plants if necessary. If you have a pump, it's a good idea to
leave this running over the winter.
It will not do any harm to make a hole in the ice, if you
choose to do so, and it can be beneficial for fish and other
creatures. The best way to do this is to leave a ball or
other floating object in the pond which can be removed to leave
a hole after it freezes. Alternatively you could use pan of hot
water placed on the ice to melt a hole. Never pour hot water
onto the ice of use chemicals or salt. Similarly, do not be
tempted to smash the ice as this can damage the pond liner and
the pond life.
Whether you do or don't find any dead frogs, please contribute
to Pond Conservation's
Big Pond Thaw Survey 2011-12.
Protecting
spawn from cold weather.
Pond Conservation
'Big Pond Thaw
Survey 2009-11' results.
Pond
plants.
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