CJ wrote:

We have a pond about 80 feet long by 25 feet wide. Fed by rainwater run-off
from the fields above it and probably excavated between four and five
hundred years ago as a water supply (and fish source?) for our house, it was
in a bad way when we moved in - totally masked from sunlight by trees and
bushes. We've cleared all that away, but the bottom is thick with leaves and
sludge. We are putting in oxygenating plants, etc, though it would be
prohibitively expensive to plant enough in one go to conquer the damage of
years. We don't intend to keep fish in it (unlike its builders) but would
love to see frogs (no spawn this season) and newts as soon as possible.
Mallard ducks and Moorhens have already visited often, but the stench of
ammonia and methane when raking out debris from the margins isn't pleasant.

Does anyone have any suggestions to accelerate the process of restoration?


The pond sounds a bit large for newts and frogs. Obviously, if you want to
be successful with these species, you musn't introduce any fish. The fact
that its big enough to attract waterfowl is a bad sign too: they will eat
newts and tadpoles. Your best chance is to establish an area of shallower
water with dense vegetation in it (rushes, reeds etc) to provide a more
sheltered area for the frogs. Toads like depper water but also go for
rushes and reeds to wrap their spawn round. Newts need broad-leaved
marginal vegetation for laying thier eggs on. Great crested newts: don't
know where you are, the chances of getting these are dependent on the
presence of a local population. However, our much smaller two-year old pond
has a breeding pair in this year, and there have been no previous records
for our locailty. They are said to prefer extensively vegatated ponds with
about two-thirds cover of submerged veg and emergent/floating cover of
about one quarter to one half of the pond. Leaving the pond to colonise
naturally will take a long time. Since you want to use mainly native
species, contacting your local wildlife Trust may yield some possible
sources of material. You must be careful when introduing plants that you
don't inadvertently introduce any aline invasives such as Azolla (fairy
moss) and New Zealand stonecrop, which will cause problems later. You will
also only be successful in establishing a healthy amphibian popualtion if
you remember that they are in fact amphibious and spend most of their life
on land: if the surounding habitat isn't suitable, they won't use the pond.

The other possible problem related to the rainwater rub-off from fields.
Depending what goes on the fields, the run-off could be rich in nutrients
which means you'll have an ongoing problem with algae and are unlikely to
be able to build up a very healthy wildlife pond.

Anita