Planting and gardening in Lake Geneva
All this aquatic vegetation, found in all the world's aquatic environments (rivers, lakes, seas, ponds, etc.), produces half the oxygen on our planet (thanks mainly to phytoplankton). An essential function of all aquatic vegetation is this production, which is vital to all life. Phytoplankton, spread throughout the environment right up to the limit of light penetration (a water column of around 20 m in a lake with clear water, over 100 m in the oceans), provides most of this oxygen. The coastal zone, teeming with particularly dense life, depends mainly on the metabolism of aquatic plants.
In the littoral zone of lakes, at shallow depths (approx. 0 to 12 m) where light penetrates, underwater vegetation locally forms veritable meadows of varying density and extent, known as "meadows". These are made up of associations of species that are compatible in varying proportions and defined by their sociability, which meets the criteria of a science called phytosociology.
The littoral zone is the part of the lake richest in species but also the most fragile. Together with the sediments, the seagrass beds form a complex ecosystem that performs essential functions that benefit the whole lake and, above all, its wildlife.
Far from being a nuisance, meadows provide food and habitat, as well as a hunting ground, refuge, resting place, reproduction area and nursery for numerous animal species: invertebrates (molluscs, crustaceans, insect larvae, etc.), crayfish, fish (perch, pike, roach, etc.) and water birds (coot, scaup, red-crested duck, etc.).
With the improvement in water quality, thanks in particular to the ban on phosphates in....
