Designing with aquatic Plants

Abstract

Ponds with vegetation were originated as mimesis of natural wetlands. The conformation and structure differs according to the characteristics of the body of water. Establishment of these vegetal communities remains natural, but there is room for design. These ponds in public spaces are sites of attractive vegetation, fauna habitat, a possibility for preventing floods in urban areas, a sutainable urban pluvial drainage system, temporary reservoirs and biological filters capable of receiving graywaste fromthe buildings in order to purify them before rejoining the natural currents. There are well known techniques for building tular beds as a way of treatment for served waters, but their potential as a visual and habitat attrction has not been enough in urban atmospheres. We can design water handling in agreement with the body form that contains it and use the liquid's own flow characteristics. Thus, the static dark water's ponds can be placed in water bodies in regular forms or in a capricious organic profiles, in order to be able to establish water bodies with vegetation within urban or architectonic spaces, it is essential to understand some factors that take part in wetlands development and established plant behavior. Among these: PH, nutriment concentration, water hardness and water flow. Wetlands are associated mainly to stagnant and low flow waters, where vegetation settles down in accordance with water brace's depth; in such a way, it is possible to classify them into five region classes: 1- External border; 2- Humid, not flooded ground zone; 3- Humid swamp (up to 10 cm deep); 4- Brief water area (10 to 40 cm deep); 5- Deep water area (more than 70 cm deep). The better we know the characteristics of the body of water, the vegetation type developed as well as region classes are just as some distinguishing elements of aquatic ecosystems in nature. This will allow us to use wetlands in design proposals with ecological and aesthetic benefits for the habitat of man.