Unlike using chemicals, or doing nothing at all, the advantages of harvesting include:
– Immediate relief from nuisance plants that interfere with navigation and recreation
– Immediate use of the water for swimming or irrigation
– There is nothing foreign introduced to the environment when using mechanical control
– Biomass is removed from the water and along with it the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium that are bound up in the vegetation
– Harvesting does not kill the vegetation, but instead gives it a hair-cut, leaving behind living plants that continue to provide oxygen and habitat for the other organisms
Cutting the Vegetation Provides Immediate Relief
– The living plants left behind continue to absorb the polluting nutrients that are used for growth
– Harvesting vegetation from the lake greatly reduces the tons of biomass that will eventually die and collapse at the end of the season. This biomass will decompose, consume oxygen, and release nutrients back into the water column to grow more weeds and algae in the future.
– Harvesting the biomass also reduces the build-up of muck and sediment on the bottom that occurs from the rotting weeds
– The Harvester is a tool to be used to improve the fishery. For example “Cruising Lanes” can be formed into certain weeds beds to provide access for fishermen, and for predator fish too; the predator fish will graze the edges of trimmed weeds beds to find prey.
– Over time plants become stressed and grow more sparse and shorter in height in frequently harvested sites
– Lake weeds make a great compost and soil conditioner. The decomposed vegetation compares to cow manure in terms nutrient content. Also, it contains no seeds that can grow on land.
Removing Vegetation Reduces the Phosphorus
– Harvesting is a highly selective process. Exactly where you steer the machine is exactly where the plants will be cut.
– Aquatic Plant Harvesters are available in many sizes with a variety of features to be customized to your application
– A Harvester is an essential tool in the lake manager’s tool box. It can be made to cut shallow or deep, narrow or wide, fast or slow, depending on what is needed.
– A Harvester compliments other lake management strategies, including herbicide use. For example, the canopy of vegetation can be harvested BEFORE a chemical treatment is done. This technique may save money because it enables the lake manager to use less herbicide. And it will reduce the negative environmental impacts of using chemicals by reducing the tonnage of biomass that settles to the bottom to decompose