Freshwater Aquarium Plants Enhance The Beauty Of An Aquarium

Having and maintaining a freshwater aquarium is a fun activity that you need to perform carefully too. Along with adding some beautiful types of freshwater fish tank fish, you also need to take care of the freshwater aquarium landscaping! By landscaping I mean live aquarium plants and their proper care. There are various kinds of freshwater aquarium plants to choose from, on the basis of their water hardiness level and suitability for the types of aquarium fish that you have in your aquarium. These plants are available in all shapes, sizes and colors, however, they have their own requirements when it comes to the water quality, fish and diseases. Let's find out more.

How to Care for Freshwater Aquarium Plants

If you are a beginner aquarist, then you may like to start with some hardy plants that are capable of surviving in more hardy water zones. That way you will negate the chances of making mistakes regarding freshwater aquarium plants care, that might affect the health of your freshwater fish. Here are a few things that you must consider before you select aquarium plants. Along with fish compatibility, you should also make sure that the plants that you are choosing are well taken care of, by providing them enough light, nutrition and water pH levels.

Fish Compatibility
The plants that you are choosing should be compatible with the types of freshwater aquarium fish that you have. Many fish like Oscars, goldfish and silver dollars enjoy uprooting plants and hence, you can put live aquarium plants without much of a difficulty. You need to check with the local aquarist and make sure what kinds of plants are compatible with the types of fish that you have.

Water Hardiness
As we know by now, various types of plants have various water conditions. Hence, it is important to find out the exact required water conditions for the plants that you want to purchase. Along with hardiness, you also need to check whether pH of water is suitable for healthy growth of the plants that you are purchasing.

Lighting Level
Along with the water conditions that are required for your fish, you need to take care of the light conditions that are required for aquarium plants too. Various types of plants need various kinds of lighting levels. Hence, be sure and provide the correct amount of lighting for the plants that you have selected. If you live in a humid and less sunny area then you should choose freshwater low light plants that require less amount of light to thrive.

Substrate Quality
These plants will survive on healthy aquarium substrate and hence, you need to check whether you have selected the right kind of substrate for the plants that you have selected. Along with placing them in the substrate, you can also purchase those special clay planters for aquarium plants. You need to provide the plants with correct nutrients like iron supplements if you are planning to plant them directly in gravel.

Plant Types
Some good plants that you can use for landscaping include, Amazon sword ( amnicus), Argentine sword (argentinensis), hygrophila polysperma, Java fern ( pteropus), umbrella plant (Spathiphyllum wallisii), vallisneria spiralis, hygrophila, anarchis, duckweed, salvinia, bladderwort, riccia, banana plants, water sprite, spath (grown underwater), red arrowhead (Regina Red), cherry hedge, green hedge, mondo grass, red edge, etc. If you are looking for freshwater low light aquarium plants, then you can use, Java moss, anubias, Christmas moss or Amano moss, wolfia, frogbit, giant salvinia, sagittaria dwarf, red cryptocoryne wendtii, green cryptocoryne wendtii, etc.

You need to take all the possible care so that your plants and fish stay healthy and safe in that environment.

Go About The Right Method Of Mulching Around Trees

Let's start by trying to answer the question, what is mulching around trees? Mulching is the process used to create a protective covering around the trees. This covering consists mostly of vegetable matter. A mulch can be made of natural substances or artificial substances. Mulching is beneficial for a plant's health.

What are the Benefits of Mulching?
Is mulching necessary, is a very common question asked by many people. Yes, proper mulching under trees is necessary for a tree's health. Read these benefits of mulching to know what makes mulching trees necessary. Mulching around trees helps in preventing soil erosion. Mulching prevents light from reaching the surface of the soil. This prevents any weed growth. So, mulching for weed control is a good idea. As the mulch decays, it enriches the soil by adding nutrients to it. Thus, using the product obtained from composting as a mulch for trees, acts as a good fertilizer. Mulching helps the soil to retain the moisture, thus preventing evaporation. A mulch is a slope around the tree or plant. So, the possibility of a lawn equipment like lawn mowers running over a tree or shrub is less, due to mulching. In gardening, mulch is very commonly used to beautify the area.

What are the Different Types of Mulch?
There are two types of mulch - organic and inorganic. Organic mulch is prepared using natural substances. These substances include leaves, bark of trees, grass, vegetable waste, etc. Organic mulch contains natural substances and therefore it decomposes easily. Inorganic mulch is a mixture of both natural and artificial substances like, pebbles, rubber, black plastic, etc. Inorganic mulch does not decompose. They are a good choice, if you have a weed problem.

How Much to Mulch?
Mulches should be 2 - 4 inches high for trees. This is the appropriate height required for mulching, which gives an effective covering to the soil. However, to calculate the amount of mulch required, there are two major factors to be considered. The first one is the square foot area of your garden and the second factor is the amount of mulch depth, you want, in inches. To calculate the square foot of the mulch area, calculate the total area of the garden and subtract the plant area occupied. This is the area where you can lay the mulch. Knowing the regular thickness of mulch, according to different constituting substances also helps in making an easy decision. For example, if the mulch is made of compost, the thickness will be around 1 - 3 inches, for a mulch made of leaves, it will be 4 - 5 inches thick, and a peat moss mulch will be about 1 inch thick.

How to Mulch Around Trees?
The first step in how to mulch around trees, is to clean the area before applying the mulch. Remove all the grass, weeds and leaves near the tree. Create a circular border of stones around the trees. This border should be of 3 inches diameter. Using your hands, spread the mulch. Make a mulch of the required thickness. Settle the mulch by watering it. This method can be also used for mulching fruit trees and flower trees.

To mulch around plants, follow this method. Clean the area of any weeds or leaves. Form a circle made of medium-sized rocks. This circle should be around 2 and a half inches. Spread a 2 inches thick layer of mulch with your hands. Also, make sure that the mulch is at least 2 inches away from the stems of the plant.

What is the Right Time for Mulching?
Mulching around trees or plants is beneficial throughout the year. However, follow these mulching tips for different seasons. For autumn, use a thick layer of mulch for the trees around 4 inches high. In winter, provide the trees with an extra one inch thickness of mulch. Mulching in the spring time, should be done after the soil warms. For tomato plant, use mulching after the tomatoes blossom.

These were some of the FAQ's about mulching around trees. Here are some more tips which will help you in mulching around trees.

• Prepare individual mulch according to the type of tree or plant.
• Check the thickness of the mulch regularly. If required add more mulch, to meet the standard mulch thickness.
• Sometimes there will be lumps formed in the mulch. Use your hands to break these lumps.
• Do not pile up the mulch against the stem of the plant or tree trunk.
• Organic mulch is more popular. If you are using organic mulching under trees, keep it well aerated and well drained.
• If you face drainage problems with the mulch, decrease an inch of the mulch thickness.
• Avoid sour mulches as they give out a pungent smell. These mulches can prove harmful for young plants as they might produce toxic elements over some time.
• Prevent excessive moisture in the mulch. This might lead to rotting of the roots.
• Excessive mulching may lead to infestation by rodents and spread of certain diseases.

Now you are aware of the general mulching practices. And by keeping these tips for mulching in mind, you can go about the right method of mulching around trees. So, start mulching around your garden and enjoy the benefits of mulching.

With This Information On What Is Deforestation

Luxuriant forests are not just a dwelling place for the birds or the arboreal inhabitants, but, they are important for the survival of living entities too. Starting from small plants to the astonishingly large trees, each play their part in absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen for life survival. You might have heard about deforestation in the Amazon. The Amazon, once known for its thick vegetation and rich biodiversity is now facing problem for loss of biodiversity, just because of deforestation. The following paragraphs will highlight on what is deforestation and its related impacts on the environment.

What is Deforestation: An Overview

Deforestation is an unavoidable environmental issue that requires immediate attention. It is the practice of chopping down trees to such an extent that the global climate is slowly undergoing changes. As per environment conservation reports, the annual rate of deforestation in the US is very high, ranking seventh in the global list of primary forest loss. For better understanding on what is deforestation, refer to the following points.

Deforestation Causes
Everyone of us are familiar with the negative deforestation effects. But, why does deforestation happen? The main causes of deforestation are related to increased population and urbanization; while a few are natural, like forest fire and acid rain. Some common reasons for cutting trees are providing room for developmental projects, agriculture, animal grazing and residential homes. Also, trees are cut down for mining, oil extraction, lumber, paper industry and fuels.

Impact of Deforestation
The major impacts of deforestation are soil erosion, disturbance in water cycle, loss of habitat, reduced biodiversity, flood, drought and climate change. A drastic change in the climate is also responsible for increasing deforestation. This happens when the trees and vegetation in the area cannot cope up with the prevailing environmental conditions. No wonder, the number of endangered species is increased day by day.

Deforestation and Global Warming
Speaking more about what is deforestation, global warming and deforestation are directly linked to each other. With the rapid declining rate of forest, there are lesser trees for absorption of greenhouse gases (GHGs) (especially carbon dioxide). With significant increase of greenhouse gas in the environment, there is increase in the amount of heat trapped by GHG. The outcomes are raised in seasonal temperature and global warming.

Deforestation Facts
As far as facts about deforestation are concerned, much of the forest destruction occurred during the period 1960-1990. Believe it or not, the total rainforest of Brazil (Atlantic coast) is reduced by about 90-95 percent. Other areas which share the same statistics are Madagascar and Philippines. If the rate of deforestation continues in the same pace as it is today, the rainforests will be cleared completely within the next 100 years.

Deforestation Statistics
Though the loss of primary forest is a concern for every state, the problems of deforestation vary from one place to another. With reference to deforestation statistics, the rate of forest destruction is highest in regions of South America, Central Africa and Southeast Asia. On an average, 60 hectares of rainforest are cut down per minute, which accounts to lost of 86,000 hectares per day.

Deforestation Prevention
Regarding deforestation solutions, the practical implementation of purported strategies requires collective effort of all responsible citizens. Every state should have stringent legislation concerning cutting of trees, forest management, reforestation, commercial growing of forest and so on. Illegal logging, infrastructure development and mining should be kept under control.

With this information on what is deforestation, I hope you are clear with your doubts regarding the causes and effects of deforestation. So, in order to increase existing forest areas, every responsible citizen should make an effort to grow more trees (reforestation) in the coming years. This man-made forest will not be as sound as the natural forest cover, but it definitely helps in conserving the biodiversity and regulating the environmental conditions to some extent.

Get Close To The Nature-Hulun Buir Grassland

Hulun Buir Grassland, located in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is found to the west of Great Khingan and famous for the Hulun Nur and Buir Nur areas. The terrain is high in the east and lower in the west, the elevation is 650-700 meters and total area is about 93,000 square meters. The annual average temperature is about 0℃, frost-free period is 85-155 days, and annual precipitation is about 250-350 millimeters. Here the locals grow spring wheat, potatoes, and a small quantity of vegetables.

The floodlands grow meadows with plump grass yielding 200-300 kg per acre. This traditional grazing land, which is suited for raising cattle, sheep and horses is famous for Sanhe cattle and horses. Since 1958, a number of large mechanized state farms have been continuously established to engage in agricultural reclamation. Some of the naturally occurring phenomena include: large sandlots in the central and south of Hulun Buir Grassland, precious forest resources due to unique steppification and the Mongolian pine forests. To meet transportation needs, the Binzhou Railway goes across the grassland.

East Hulun Buir Grassland is adorned with hundreds of silver chains and numerous pearls. The rivers and lakes originating from the Greater Xing’an Mountain that ranges across eastern Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang Province. Rivers in Hulun Buir share one feature. They all dash down the mountains when they get to the flat terrain; they become mild and take their time meandering through the meadows.

The Mergel Gol River is said to have 'the most bends on earth', but the Yimin River, which runs from Ewenki Banner into the city of Hailar, has even more bends. Yimin River forms a pattern of tortuous ribbons. The flat terrain enables the rivers to linger on as long as they wish, nurturing the land on both banks and supporting the numerous flocks and herds of Hulun Buir.

The Hulun Nur (Nur means lake in Monglian), on the Orxon Gol River, is the fifth largest freshwater lake in China. Covering 2,339 sq kilometers, the lake is also referred to by the Mongols as a 'Dalai' (sea). Also on the Orxon Gol River but upstream in the south is Buir Nur, the boundary lake between China and Mongolia. When spring comes, shoals of fish in the Buir Nur will swim downstream along the Orxon Gol River to lay their eggs in the Hulun Nur. Between the two lakes is the Dalai Lake Nature Reserve.

Situated near Hulun Buir City, this land is one of the world's three top grasslands - experts all tend to agree that there is none better than it though. It is the lifeblood of Mongolia and is the primary cattle-producing area in ae country famous for its livestock quality. There are also thousands of large and small lakes within the border of Inner Mongolia. The grassland itself is a boundless prairie full of vast green waves. When a gentle breeze stirs the grassland, sheep flocks interspersed as the passing cloud and flying catkins venture on their way... The landscape is so beautiful and the carefree feeling that accompanies you as you visit here is like nothing else in China.

Hulun Buir Grassland is famous for the following three reasons: first is the legend surrounding former mogul Genghis Khan. Secondly is the fact that grass yielded from the high-quality meadow always fetches a good price in Southeast Asia and thirdly, the Sanhe Horses and Sanhe Cattle are famous world-wide.