James Wang, an ecologist now working in environmental education, explains that the decaying leaves insure that the water will not be too clear (devoid of nutrients). Yet they do not provide too many nutrients, so avoid the problem currently being faced today: The runoff of fertilizers from the Wuling Farm into the stream is causing an overgrowth of algae, making the water turbid and affecting fish growth.
櫻花鉤吻鮭需要的水質，就是要「有點清，又不能太清；有點濁，又不能太濁」，從事生態學與環境教育的汪靜明解釋，落葉產生的腐植質，讓溪流不會太過於清澈，缺乏營養；但也不像武陵農場流入溪裡的化肥，過度營養，溪水混濁，影響魚兒生長。