Vegetation Succession for 12 Years in a Pond Created Restoratively

Abstract

The Najeoer Pond was created in a rice paddy as a part of a plan to build the National Institute of Ecology. To induce the establishment of various plants, the maximum depth of the pond was 2.0 m, and diverse depths were created with a gentle slope on the pond bed. When introducing vegetation, littoral and emergent vegetation were first introduced to stabilize the space secured for the creation of the pond, whereas the introduction of other vegetation was allowed to develop naturally. In this pond, floating, emergent, wetland, and littoral plants have been established to various degrees, reflecting the water depth and water table. As a result of stand ordination, based on vegetation data obtained from the created Najeoer Pond and a natural lagoon selected as the reference site, the species’ composition resembled that of the reference site. Diversity, based on vegetation type, community, and species, tended to be higher than that of the reference site. The proportion of exotic species increased due to the disturbance that occurred during the pond creation process but continued to decrease as the vegetation introduced during the creation of the pond became established. Considering these results comprehensively, the restorative treatment served to increase both the biological integrity and ecological stability of the pond and, thus, achieved the creation goal from the viewpoint of the pond structure.