Post by roneddy on Nov 16, 2014 18:50:33 GMT
Leaflitter, Leafmould; What’s in a Name?
There are a lot of buzz-words and regularly used terms in the reptile and amphibian hobby; CWD, CB, biotope- the list goes on. Over time, these become habit, to the point that we don’t even notice that we are using them- and certainly those of us who advocate bioactive set-ups are as guilty as anyone! Over time, the terms become as familiar as any others, but it doesn’t hurt to remind ourselves occasionally of what we actually mean, when we use them so casually. Two elements that are often mentioned (almost as essentials) in terms of bioactive vivaria are leaflitter and leafmould; but what actually are they, and how are they used?
Leaflitter
Everyone knows what leaflitter looks like; the thick layer of fallen leaves, twigs, seed pods and other detritus found in woodlands parks and gardens under trees, especially plentiful in autumn, winter and early spring. In the vivarium is it used particularly as a ground cover, providing an attractive backdrop, foraging space and sometimes hiding place for our animals. Dead leaves and twigs are relatively long- lasting, as they are largely composed of cellulose and lignin, tough plant proteins that are hard to digest for most organisms and resistant to rot. Dried dead leaves are not usually broken down quickly by bacteria; the process is usually aided by fungi and those few invertebrates that can digest them, including (importantly) woodlice and millipedes. Nonetheless, the leaflitter layer is full of life; spiders, beetles and many other invertebrates view it as home. Fresh, un-sterilised leaflitter is likely to be full of these creatures- which can be seen as adding to the ecology of the vivarium, as ‘snack food’ for the animals, or as pests- of which, more later. Placed in the vivarium, leaflitter will slowly break down- faster if there is a high woodlouse population. It will need to be regularly replaced, but rather than buy expensive dried leaves online, can be easily collected yourself, with a basic idea of what is ‘safe and what is not.
Safe/unsafe?
The same rules that hold for wood applies to leaves produced from the same trees, on the whole; the same toxins are generally still present in the leaves. So, laburnum, yew, eucalyptus, laurel etc. are not usable in our set-ups, and collecting leaves near them is usually a bad idea. Fruit and nut leaves are usually fine; apple, pear, cherry, damson, plum, oak, hazel, beech, sweet chestnut, grapevine. Sycamore is also good, and available practically everywhere. Some leaves will last far longer than others- oak is particularly long-lasting due to its native tannins, and therefore popular with dart-keepers. Personally, to me it looks incongruous in tropical vivs- its shape screams ‘temperate forest’ to me; but it does take a long time to break down. Bamboo leaves are also particularly long- lasting, and add a definite ‘Oriental’ effect to Asian-style setups. On the whole, evergreen leaves are best avoided, with the exception of Camellia, which is related to ordinary tea. The dried, leathery leaves are tough and look excitingly tropical- but be sure you are not collecting laurel or rhododendron leaves, instead! As with all ‘found’ or ‘foraged’ materials, it should be collected from clean areas, away from roads and farm pesticides.
Leafmould
Leafmould is the spongy, humus-rich layer usually found under the leaflitter, formed by the products of its breakdown, usually mixed with soil particles. Here the decomposition of material continues, aided now by a legion of fungi, bacteria, worms, woodlice mites and other invertebrates. These in turn are preyed on by spiders, predatory beetles, other predatory mites and more. As mentioned in relation to leaflitter, this ready-made ecology, already geared to breaking down wastes, is
in many ways the ideal basis of a bioactive system. I find that it is best mixed with other ingredients such as orchid bark and coco fibre, however, as used on it’s own it has a tendency to compress down and become soggy and anaerobic. Properly loosened the organic material in it provide an ideal growing medium for the woodland and jungle plants used in so many of our vivaria, as well as additional food for the ‘custodians’- a rather pretentious word for the clean-up crew that make our systems work.
Treatment
Here is the sticking point for many people new to bioactive systems; how do I treat the material? The short answer is that I don’t. Not all of the native organisms will survive for long in vivarium conditions; earthworms, for example tend not to do well at normal viv temperatures. Those that do, however, already have a head start in breaking down the waste, meaning that there is no need for a transition period- the vivarium can be planted up and used pretty much immediately. There are occasions when treatment may be appropriate; for instance when keeping tiny frogs such as some darts and possibly young mantellas, whose food source (largely springtails) may be at risk from predatory nemertean worms. The frogs themselves may also be at risk if baby spiders grow large. As I don’t keep either group, this is not an issue for me, but dart keepers often like to sterilise the material, and only add cultured springtails and woodlice. The resulting ecology is somewhat sparse, but seems to work, after a period of time to allow the new custodians to increase their number. I also add these organisms to my tanks, along with compost worms (which appear to take higher temps better than earthworms and are excellent at removing dung); the resulting mixed ecology works very well. The simplest method of sterilisation is to microwave the material in small quantities at a time, for a couple of minutes. Sterilised leaflitter and leafmould are still excellent in terms of providing a growing medium for plants, and adding to the soil structure.
Making your own
I’m quite lucky in that with a short train ride and a long walk, I have access to a clean, chemical-free mixed beech and sweet chestnut wood high on the North Downs, but not everybody has such easy access to leafmould. In the short term, you may have to resort to one of the online companies that sell it, but in the long term it is quite easy to make your own, using an old gardener’s trick. This can be made using a purpose-made wire-netting bin or even ordinary black bags, pierced a few times and placed in a convenient out-of-the-way corner. Leaves of suitable trees can be collected from your garden, if pesticide-free or even parks. Bear in mind that the finished product will have diminished considerably in volume, so you need a lot of leaves. As mentioned above, the process, largely the result of fungal action, is very slow, but after a year you will have a friable, crumbly leafmould that can be used immediately in your vivaria. Happy collecting!
Copyright 2014 Ron Eddy
There are a lot of buzz-words and regularly used terms in the reptile and amphibian hobby; CWD, CB, biotope- the list goes on. Over time, these become habit, to the point that we don’t even notice that we are using them- and certainly those of us who advocate bioactive set-ups are as guilty as anyone! Over time, the terms become as familiar as any others, but it doesn’t hurt to remind ourselves occasionally of what we actually mean, when we use them so casually. Two elements that are often mentioned (almost as essentials) in terms of bioactive vivaria are leaflitter and leafmould; but what actually are they, and how are they used?
Leaflitter
Everyone knows what leaflitter looks like; the thick layer of fallen leaves, twigs, seed pods and other detritus found in woodlands parks and gardens under trees, especially plentiful in autumn, winter and early spring. In the vivarium is it used particularly as a ground cover, providing an attractive backdrop, foraging space and sometimes hiding place for our animals. Dead leaves and twigs are relatively long- lasting, as they are largely composed of cellulose and lignin, tough plant proteins that are hard to digest for most organisms and resistant to rot. Dried dead leaves are not usually broken down quickly by bacteria; the process is usually aided by fungi and those few invertebrates that can digest them, including (importantly) woodlice and millipedes. Nonetheless, the leaflitter layer is full of life; spiders, beetles and many other invertebrates view it as home. Fresh, un-sterilised leaflitter is likely to be full of these creatures- which can be seen as adding to the ecology of the vivarium, as ‘snack food’ for the animals, or as pests- of which, more later. Placed in the vivarium, leaflitter will slowly break down- faster if there is a high woodlouse population. It will need to be regularly replaced, but rather than buy expensive dried leaves online, can be easily collected yourself, with a basic idea of what is ‘safe and what is not.
Safe/unsafe?
The same rules that hold for wood applies to leaves produced from the same trees, on the whole; the same toxins are generally still present in the leaves. So, laburnum, yew, eucalyptus, laurel etc. are not usable in our set-ups, and collecting leaves near them is usually a bad idea. Fruit and nut leaves are usually fine; apple, pear, cherry, damson, plum, oak, hazel, beech, sweet chestnut, grapevine. Sycamore is also good, and available practically everywhere. Some leaves will last far longer than others- oak is particularly long-lasting due to its native tannins, and therefore popular with dart-keepers. Personally, to me it looks incongruous in tropical vivs- its shape screams ‘temperate forest’ to me; but it does take a long time to break down. Bamboo leaves are also particularly long- lasting, and add a definite ‘Oriental’ effect to Asian-style setups. On the whole, evergreen leaves are best avoided, with the exception of Camellia, which is related to ordinary tea. The dried, leathery leaves are tough and look excitingly tropical- but be sure you are not collecting laurel or rhododendron leaves, instead! As with all ‘found’ or ‘foraged’ materials, it should be collected from clean areas, away from roads and farm pesticides.
Leafmould
Leafmould is the spongy, humus-rich layer usually found under the leaflitter, formed by the products of its breakdown, usually mixed with soil particles. Here the decomposition of material continues, aided now by a legion of fungi, bacteria, worms, woodlice mites and other invertebrates. These in turn are preyed on by spiders, predatory beetles, other predatory mites and more. As mentioned in relation to leaflitter, this ready-made ecology, already geared to breaking down wastes, is
in many ways the ideal basis of a bioactive system. I find that it is best mixed with other ingredients such as orchid bark and coco fibre, however, as used on it’s own it has a tendency to compress down and become soggy and anaerobic. Properly loosened the organic material in it provide an ideal growing medium for the woodland and jungle plants used in so many of our vivaria, as well as additional food for the ‘custodians’- a rather pretentious word for the clean-up crew that make our systems work.
Treatment
Here is the sticking point for many people new to bioactive systems; how do I treat the material? The short answer is that I don’t. Not all of the native organisms will survive for long in vivarium conditions; earthworms, for example tend not to do well at normal viv temperatures. Those that do, however, already have a head start in breaking down the waste, meaning that there is no need for a transition period- the vivarium can be planted up and used pretty much immediately. There are occasions when treatment may be appropriate; for instance when keeping tiny frogs such as some darts and possibly young mantellas, whose food source (largely springtails) may be at risk from predatory nemertean worms. The frogs themselves may also be at risk if baby spiders grow large. As I don’t keep either group, this is not an issue for me, but dart keepers often like to sterilise the material, and only add cultured springtails and woodlice. The resulting ecology is somewhat sparse, but seems to work, after a period of time to allow the new custodians to increase their number. I also add these organisms to my tanks, along with compost worms (which appear to take higher temps better than earthworms and are excellent at removing dung); the resulting mixed ecology works very well. The simplest method of sterilisation is to microwave the material in small quantities at a time, for a couple of minutes. Sterilised leaflitter and leafmould are still excellent in terms of providing a growing medium for plants, and adding to the soil structure.
Making your own
I’m quite lucky in that with a short train ride and a long walk, I have access to a clean, chemical-free mixed beech and sweet chestnut wood high on the North Downs, but not everybody has such easy access to leafmould. In the short term, you may have to resort to one of the online companies that sell it, but in the long term it is quite easy to make your own, using an old gardener’s trick. This can be made using a purpose-made wire-netting bin or even ordinary black bags, pierced a few times and placed in a convenient out-of-the-way corner. Leaves of suitable trees can be collected from your garden, if pesticide-free or even parks. Bear in mind that the finished product will have diminished considerably in volume, so you need a lot of leaves. As mentioned above, the process, largely the result of fungal action, is very slow, but after a year you will have a friable, crumbly leafmould that can be used immediately in your vivaria. Happy collecting!
Copyright 2014 Ron Eddy