Thanks for the feedback. It's good to know these vlog updates are worthy of going on our main channel in your eyes. We've got a lot lined up on the main channel so we decided to make this update more immediate and put it out on Field Notes, but I expect we'll make another big update on our main channel for this project in the future! cheers Tim
I was skeptical of the field notes concept, but I was wrong. I love this. Keep innovating. Keep pushing! This is awesome! Seriously. While I love the production value of the main Mossy Earth videos, I love even more that this format gives the mic to the passionate individuals working on each project. More please!
Thanks for the update! If the crayfish weren’t removed before the artificial island was constructed, would they burrow and weaken the structure of the island? Also, someone mentioned it before- the milky blue water was likely due to copper and limestone leaching from the bedrock. This might make the Blue Lake’s water chemistry fundamentally different from other lakes! Maybe worth checking how it might affect its wildlife community composition. Cheers and best of luck 💛💪🏻
Glad you enjoyed the update! We don't think that the crayfish could cause significant damage to the island itself, so that should not be an issue. Regarding the lake's colour, during the last visit, we discovered that the bottom was composed of a white clay that forms a kind of floating mud - and we believe that this gives the lake this distinctive white bluish colour, also supported by the shallow depth. It might also be limestone leaking from the bedrock, but we'd have to do more testing to find out. The test we did do, showed it had higher pH and conductivity than other bodies of water at the quarry too, which we believe to be a result of the high levels if chlorides in the water.
In Berlin, they introduced eels to the ponds in the park because not much aquatic live feeds on these crayfish but the eels do feed on the younger ones. But they dried out the ponds in the end so they don't wander into the river system
You could make this main channel content It's such a huge intervention and there is so much to discuss that I'm pretty confident a lot of people would be very interested to see this
Yeah, there is in fact lots to talk about, but we sadly don't have the means to make so many main channel videos atm. I'm sure, however, that we'll make one about this lake's transformation next year, and show how it's changed after these interventions!
My first reaction to the whitish blue waters that it resembles those of Lithium salts mining and processing. Portugal has large deposits of Lithium admittedly 100 miles further north but has there been tests done to confirm what is actually causing the water to turn this colour?
I love the quarry project. All of its videos are fantastic! I'm glad we got an update on it here. If you whip up some chili butter sauce, I think of a larger bipedal mammalian force that can put another pressure on that invasive crayfish population 😅
I am really interested in seeing if you can get rid of the crayfish or at least reduce their numbers to a point where the barely effect the ecosystem. Seems tough, but who knows. Getting rid of steep banks is a logical step
I think this project feels different to the other Mossy Earth projects. Given the impact of the quarrywork, the rewilding is from such a low base point, it almost like terraforming, especually the blue lake. What is the relationship of the quarry to the surrounding land? Is it farmland, untended scrub or nature reserve?
If you check out the report Claudia and Udo produced, about the aquatic plant survey, you'll see that we did some water testing and you have everything specified in there. The pH in the Blue Lake is higher than in other water bodies at the quarry, and think that this stems from the presence of chlorides in the water. We are not yet sure about what's causing this, but probably an extraordinary mineralization of underground waters
Glad to see those steep banks get rolled back! Don't be afraid to make a peninsula in addition to the island when you work on the other side. Consider biochar as a soil amendment, and using some rocks to build caves for fish to hide in. It's a big lake, and oxygen levels are probably too low for amphibians. if you can do a bit more (bring in plants, maybe even a solar powered fountain or waterfall) to make it more friendly to amphibians, that's going to help your plant growth, too. Look at Serpa Design and his Ecosystem Pond.
Always enjoy quarry lake updates! not a very deep lake. Would it make sense to deepen parts of it (and perhaps expand the island in turn? for some biomes that prefer more depth, or is that more trouble than its worth? Looking forward to what it looks like in like half a year or 18 months or so
Interesting update and interesting if the island could have a pond that dries out in the summer to help amphibians. Maybe even adding some amphibians to the small pond that then can move to the bigger one when it full in the pond with adult animals
No, as there is already some vegetation on one of the margins, we will just let nature take over by itself. Reshaping the margins should be enough for this to happen without additional help.
Should introduce some local carp or catfish species into the water. They will eat a lot of the crayfish if there's not much else living in the water. A predatory fish large enough to feed on them will help drop their numbers better than any other option. And if you use local species it will help build more biodiversity. And once the crayfish numbers are reduced to the point more plant life can start to develop, then other fish can be added to help rebalance the water ecosystem. But without predation in the water at scale, the crayfish will still breed mostly unencumbered.
As carps are invasive, this might not be the way to go. We had thought of introducing one or two fish of the same sex to control the population, but as the lake is quite big this would be hard to manage. And reducing crayfish populations isn't an easy task, without constant removal, their numbers usually end up bouncing back up again. But we are currently looking into some new solutions, and will hopefully have some news for you soon 👀
Very interesting and enjoyable. I'm wondering what bird species eat crayfish. Cormorants? I wonder if nesting platforms would be inviting for some bird species (terns?). Easier to build than an island :).
A little effort can speed up the rewilding of this area by years or even decades. I am convinced that the disruption by the diggers will be overgrown very quickly.
Just a word of warning with the crawfish. I am from Louisiana and I've seen many a crawfish happily make their homes on flat ground as well. They just construct little towers out of mud. So it might not be a bad idea for the guys who are on site to kick those over and smash them in as they're walking around to help further control crawfish numbers.
The bottom of the lake is quite muddy, so I think they prefer the more rigid steep banks in this lake. Besides letting the otters and birds eat them, we're also looking for additional control actions we can do to keep the population in check. Hopefully we'll have news for you about this soon!
I agree on less steep structures under water. But will you preserve the steep parts above water? Several bird species like swallows and king fishers need these to thrive. As for getting rid of the crawfish - are any of their predators native to Portugal? Bass, catfish, otter…
We are not removing all the steep banks, but at least the ones on the other side of the lake, and the one close to the island we are building. About natural predators, we have some birds that eat them, like the white heron for example, and also the otters!
to deal with the invasive crawfish problem why you guys don't try to introduce eurasian otters to the big lake? maybe the little fellas can learn to hunt and eat the crawfish
Any ability to add a small crocodilian to the lakes? From what I know Portugal has a climate that aligns well with the crocs tolerance. I find it odd that Europe lacks any sort of wild crocodilian.
There are no native crocodilian species in Portugal, and we definitely don't want to introduce something that's not supposed to be here. We've already got enough on our plate with all the invasive species you can find in the country 😅
@@MossyEarth-FieldNotes Doh! Yes it completely didn't occur to me! So sorry for the braindead idea haha. I'm very happy with what you've all been able to do in restoring the ecosystem to what it could be, and perhaps what it can be. I've been watching and donating since the Chernobyl video a few years back. Very heartened to see the reach and scope of Mossy Earth grow.
This is a main channel quality update, with just a bit of editing time and money. But either way, I enjoyed it and learned some things. Thank you!
Thanks for the feedback. It's good to know these vlog updates are worthy of going on our main channel in your eyes. We've got a lot lined up on the main channel so we decided to make this update more immediate and put it out on Field Notes, but I expect we'll make another big update on our main channel for this project in the future! cheers Tim
Agreed. Worthy of the main channel, but this is different. This elevates the voices of more of the team and that is awesome.
I was skeptical of the field notes concept, but I was wrong. I love this. Keep innovating. Keep pushing! This is awesome! Seriously. While I love the production value of the main Mossy Earth videos, I love even more that this format gives the mic to the passionate individuals working on each project. More please!
Thanks for the update! If the crayfish weren’t removed before the artificial island was constructed, would they burrow and weaken the structure of the island?
Also, someone mentioned it before- the milky blue water was likely due to copper and limestone leaching from the bedrock. This might make the Blue Lake’s water chemistry fundamentally different from other lakes! Maybe worth checking how it might affect its wildlife community composition. Cheers and best of luck 💛💪🏻
Glad you enjoyed the update! We don't think that the crayfish could cause significant damage to the island itself, so that should not be an issue. Regarding the lake's colour, during the last visit, we discovered that the bottom was composed of a white clay that forms a kind of floating mud - and we believe that this gives the lake this distinctive white bluish colour, also supported by the shallow depth. It might also be limestone leaking from the bedrock, but we'd have to do more testing to find out. The test we did do, showed it had higher pH and conductivity than other bodies of water at the quarry too, which we believe to be a result of the high levels if chlorides in the water.
I wonder if planting just a few young native trees on the island would assist in limiting the island from being damaged and eroded over time?
My favourite Mossy Earth project!
I think I have to agree!
Wind. The eternal enemy of Mossy Earth Field Notes recordings 😂
You know it 😂
Comment for algorithm!
Thanks!
In Berlin, they introduced eels to the ponds in the park because not much aquatic live feeds on these crayfish but the eels do feed on the younger ones. But they dried out the ponds in the end so they don't wander into the river system
You could make this main channel content
It's such a huge intervention and there is so much to discuss that I'm pretty confident a lot of people would be very interested to see this
Also the crayfish situation is sad
Yeah, there is in fact lots to talk about, but we sadly don't have the means to make so many main channel videos atm. I'm sure, however, that we'll make one about this lake's transformation next year, and show how it's changed after these interventions!
Business is booming -> good news
Quarry is booming with life -> GREAT news
My first reaction to the whitish blue waters that it resembles those of Lithium salts mining and processing. Portugal has large deposits of Lithium admittedly 100 miles further north but has there been tests done to confirm what is actually causing the water to turn this colour?
This is my favorite project... trying to fix a habitat that has been destroyed by human hands and showing that with time and effort it is plausible...
Exactly! And the truth is we don't have to do too much, just give nature a bit more space so it can move in and take over
I'm so excited for this project!
I love the quarry project. All of its videos are fantastic! I'm glad we got an update on it here. If you whip up some chili butter sauce, I think of a larger bipedal mammalian force that can put another pressure on that invasive crayfish population 😅
I am really interested in seeing if you can get rid of the crayfish or at least reduce their numbers to a point where the barely effect the ecosystem. Seems tough, but who knows. Getting rid of steep banks is a logical step
Such an interesting project!
I think this project feels different to the other Mossy Earth projects. Given the impact of the quarrywork, the rewilding is from such a low base point, it almost like terraforming, especually the blue lake. What is the relationship of the quarry to the surrounding land? Is it farmland, untended scrub or nature reserve?
Good job!
Great to see all of these updates
Fantastic update! Keep up the good work
Cheers Flora! Thanks for this update and explaining all that is going on right now at the quarry. When is the Portuguese crawfish boil scheduled?
Very happy you liked the update, and if we plan a Portuguese invasive crayfish dinner party, we'll let you know !
@MossyEarth-FieldNotes I look forward to it 😉
Awesome update. Excited to see what it does down the road
Nesting birds will probably appreciate the island ^^
My vote counted I see
Check the pH and dissolved metals concentration? Blue lake reminds me of Chronicles of Narnia...when Eustice shed his cursed dragon skin?
If you check out the report Claudia and Udo produced, about the aquatic plant survey, you'll see that we did some water testing and you have everything specified in there. The pH in the Blue Lake is higher than in other water bodies at the quarry, and think that this stems from the presence of chlorides in the water. We are not yet sure about what's causing this, but probably an extraordinary mineralization of underground waters
I really love to follow this project, keep showing us the progress 💚💙
Have we tested the chemical composition of the blue lake? It looks like it might have metals in it
Great job!
Glad to see those steep banks get rolled back! Don't be afraid to make a peninsula in addition to the island when you work on the other side. Consider biochar as a soil amendment, and using some rocks to build caves for fish to hide in. It's a big lake, and oxygen levels are probably too low for amphibians. if you can do a bit more (bring in plants, maybe even a solar powered fountain or waterfall) to make it more friendly to amphibians, that's going to help your plant growth, too. Look at Serpa Design and his Ecosystem Pond.
Shared on Mastodon ClimateJustice by JdeB 🇳🇱 including membership link
Love it
Thanks for the update
Always enjoy quarry lake updates!
not a very deep lake. Would it make sense to deepen parts of it (and perhaps expand the island in turn? for some biomes that prefer more depth, or is that more trouble than its worth?
Looking forward to what it looks like in like half a year or 18 months or so
We will just leave it as is, and let nature take over the way it wants! We're also curious to see how it changes over time
Interesting update and interesting if the island could have a pond that dries out in the summer to help amphibians.
Maybe even adding some amphibians to the small pond that then can move to the bigger one when it full in the pond with adult animals
Maybe even planting some more plants in the shallow that you are building
Do you plan to do any flora/fauna transplants, from a healthier pond to the island to jumpstart the processes?
No, as there is already some vegetation on one of the margins, we will just let nature take over by itself. Reshaping the margins should be enough for this to happen without additional help.
@@MossyEarth-FieldNotes Gotcha! Thanks for the update!
Should introduce some local carp or catfish species into the water.
They will eat a lot of the crayfish if there's not much else living in the water.
A predatory fish large enough to feed on them will help drop their numbers better than any other option.
And if you use local species it will help build more biodiversity.
And once the crayfish numbers are reduced to the point more plant life can start to develop, then other fish can be added to help rebalance the water ecosystem.
But without predation in the water at scale, the crayfish will still breed mostly unencumbered.
As carps are invasive, this might not be the way to go. We had thought of introducing one or two fish of the same sex to control the population, but as the lake is quite big this would be hard to manage. And reducing crayfish populations isn't an easy task, without constant removal, their numbers usually end up bouncing back up again. But we are currently looking into some new solutions, and will hopefully have some news for you soon 👀
Nice update! The positive presentation gives me hope 😌
Also my favourite project!
Very interesting and enjoyable. I'm wondering what bird species eat crayfish. Cormorants?
I wonder if nesting platforms would be inviting for some bird species (terns?). Easier to build than an island :).
Good luck!
Great project
awesome
A little effort can speed up the rewilding of this area by years or even decades. I am convinced that the disruption by the diggers will be overgrown very quickly.
We believe that too, specially considering there is already riparian vegetation on one of the margins! Can't wait to see nature do it's thing
Just a word of warning with the crawfish. I am from Louisiana and I've seen many a crawfish happily make their homes on flat ground as well. They just construct little towers out of mud. So it might not be a bad idea for the guys who are on site to kick those over and smash them in as they're walking around to help further control crawfish numbers.
The bottom of the lake is quite muddy, so I think they prefer the more rigid steep banks in this lake. Besides letting the otters and birds eat them, we're also looking for additional control actions we can do to keep the population in check. Hopefully we'll have news for you about this soon!
💪💪
❤
Wish I could be involved in your projects
I agree on less steep structures under water. But will you preserve the steep parts above water? Several bird species like swallows and king fishers need these to thrive. As for getting rid of the crawfish - are any of their predators native to Portugal? Bass, catfish, otter…
We are not removing all the steep banks, but at least the ones on the other side of the lake, and the one close to the island we are building. About natural predators, we have some birds that eat them, like the white heron for example, and also the otters!
Eat all the crawdads. They are tasty!
We've been told they are tasty, but have not tried them yet!
Why Not using stehe Wind and Pump some Water from blue Lake to a new Pond above the Cliff?
to deal with the invasive crawfish problem why you guys don't try to introduce eurasian otters to the big lake? maybe the little fellas can learn to hunt and eat the crawfish
Who will pull the introduced weeds that migratory birds bring in on their feathers?
In other bodies of water at the quarry this hasn't been an issue, so there is no reason to believe this will happen at the lake.
Any ability to add a small crocodilian to the lakes? From what I know Portugal has a climate that aligns well with the crocs tolerance. I find it odd that Europe lacks any sort of wild crocodilian.
There are no native crocodilian species in Portugal, and we definitely don't want to introduce something that's not supposed to be here. We've already got enough on our plate with all the invasive species you can find in the country 😅
@@MossyEarth-FieldNotes Doh! Yes it completely didn't occur to me! So sorry for the braindead idea haha. I'm very happy with what you've all been able to do in restoring the ecosystem to what it could be, and perhaps what it can be. I've been watching and donating since the Chernobyl video a few years back. Very heartened to see the reach and scope of Mossy Earth grow.
why not make a floating island with pontoons and aquatic vegetation?
wish you would put camera on something , getting seasick watching you.
:3
Why don't ye put some fish in the lake and plant tree around the lake?