Trees to plant in a lake bed

 
 
trees to plant in a lake bed : 11 posts by 7 authors.
Before the water level increases in monsoon, we want to plant tree saplings in the lake bed and on a couple of islands at the Puttenahalli Lake, J.P. Nagar, Bengaluru . Specifically we are looking for trees which can grow in water and on the islands to provide nesting, perching places for birds. Which are the suitable species ? Also, where in Bengaluru can we get these saplings? We are a small team of citizen caretakers of the lake, always low on funds since we maintain the lake with donations from well wishers. 

An early reply will be welcome. 

Nice to hear about tree plantation prog. in lake/ I hope you will study what kind of trees you have those are growing on the edges and inside the lake waters. I feel, instead of planting trees right in the waters, we should plant it on its edges, i mean on the junction line of water-soil.

Many thanks, … Since our lake is monsoon dependent, it runs the risk of becoming completely dry in a year of inadequate rainfall. To counter this, we are exploring getting treated water into the lake. In this case, even the edges will be under water. Are there any species that will grow in shallow water? The trees now growing wild in the edges are Ficus Racemosa and F. Religiosa; Anthocephalus Cadamba; Muntingia Calabura. Will these survive in shallow water?

We also want to plant water Pandanus and fresh water mangrove. Any help to procure these will be very, very welcome!

The following may be of some help:

 

 

I live near Mico Layout, down the road from Puttenhalli lake. Please contact Dr. Ganesh Babu. Senior Research Officer, at FRLHT, Yelahanka. He is in the business of landscaping and creating gardens using only native species. If not for helping you directly, he will definitely be able to guide you regarding this.
His email id is ganesh.babu@frlht.org and contact number- +91 80 28568000. The plants they sell there are very much affordable. Please see this link http://envis.frlht.org/documents/AHCNurseryListDec2012.pdf.

The issue here is not only nativity of the plants and trees planted but also the capacity to tolerate water logging. Such trees which can tolerate water logging can be useful to induce breeding of colonial water birds especially if the trees are planted in an island with in the lake.
Feel that Acacia nilotica,  Terminalia arjuna and Barringtonia racemosa could be good candidates . Solicit your views on this.

Yes, you are right about the need for trees to tolerate water logging. Thanks you for the suggested species. Any idea where we can get them … in Bengaluru?

nice effort and idea
good wishes
the list given by … above has Terminalia arjuna listed at the nursery in the list, selling for 80 rupees.

Salix tetrasperma (Indian willow, nir vanji) tree will stay well in the margins of lake. It can be planted. It is a native holy tree, (Star tree), it is available at talacauvery, medikere, Hosur. I hope available some areas of Bangalore.

Thanks to all who responded to my query about suitable tree saplings to plant in the Puttenahalli Lake bed. Your suggestions were very useful indeed. We sent the list to the BBMP who’s offered to get these species – Acacia Nilotica, Arjuna Terminalia, Pongamia pinnata, Syzigium cumini and Dendrocalamus strictus. We are also trying to get Salix tetrasperma. Our lake being only about 10 acres, we don’t have too much place for more species.