Standing open water - SW
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 SW Resource Breakdown:2

County SW Resource
Avon no info
Cornwall no info
Devon no info
Dorset no info
Glouc. no info
Somerset no info
Wilts. no info

1Action for biodiversity
in the South West (1997)

2SW Biodiversity Audit (1996)


Current Status in the SW

Definition1

Standing open water includes ponds, defined broadly as small bodies of water (between 1m and 2 ha in area) which hold water for at least four months of the year, anything larger is termed as a lake, with recognition that lakes encompasses special cases such as reservoirs and flooded gravel, sand, clay and marl pits. Saline waters are not included. It is important to recognise that a standing open water site also includes terrestrial habitat, and that some sites comprise a collection of water bodies.

There will be some complementary coverage within other Habitat and Species Action Plans for the region, including those for reedbed, coastal and floodplain grazing marsh, urban, great crested newt and southern damselfly. .

Current Extent1

The number of ponds in the South West is unknown, but is probably several thousand rather than tens of thousands. The UK total is estimated at 375,000 and a 75% decline is thought to have occurred over the last hundred years.

In the South West there are c4,100 ha of lowland still water >5 ha (reservoirs in the region represent a large population of this figure, 2,835 ha SWW pers. comm.), this represents a small fraction of the UK total (c300,000).

Examples of important sites in the South West1

  • Breney Common and Redmoor
  • Bovey Basin
  • Blackmoor Vale
  • Lower Avon valley
  • Purbeck
  • Winterbourne Valley
  • Bridgewater Brick Pits
  • Priddy Pools
  • Salisbury plain

Habitat Loss1

no information currently available

Associated Species1

Birds

  • gadwall
  • tufted duck
  • common tern
  • kingfisher
  • great crested grebe
  • swallow
  • sand martin
  • mute swan

Amphibians

  • great crested newt
  • common frog
  • common toad

Reptiles

  • grass snake

Invertebrates

  • medicinal leech
  • southern damselfly
  • small red damselfly
  • hairy dragonfly
  • fairy shrimp
  • mud pond snail

Plants

  • mudwort (Vascular Plant)
  • Six-stemmed Waterwort (Vascular Plant)
  • lesser bearded stonewort (Non Vascular Plant)

Current factors affecting the habitat in the SW

  • Infilling (agricultural development and to a lesser extent urbanisation)
  • Land drainage (and over abstraction)
  • Neglect (natural succession and siltation)
  • Surrounding habitat loss
  • Pollution, mainly nutrient enrichment (artificial fertilisers, slurry, sewage, fisheries, nutrient rich silt), pollution is exacerbated by lowering of water levels due to drainage and over-abstraction.
  • Introductions (fish signal crayfish, terrapins, alien plants)
  • Fisheries (inappropriate introduction, overstocking)
  • Recreation (disturbance and damage by water craft, angling etc)
  • Waterfowl stocking

UK biodiversity objectives and proposed targets

UK Standing Open Water Habitat Statement:

Conservation Direction: Maintain and improve the conservation interest of standing open waters, through the use of integrated management plans and the sensitive management of adjacent land. Create new standing waters, of maximum wildlife benefit, where possible

UK Mesotrophic Lakes Costed Habitat Action Plan:

maintain the characteristic plant and animal communities of current mesotrophic lakes. identify and implement effective remedial action to address nutrient enrichment in polluted mesotrophic lakes by 2010.

South-west biodiversity objectives and proposed targets

OBJECTIVE 1

Acquire a better knowledge of the extent and distribution of all lakes and ponds over 25 m

TARGET: ongoing


OBJECTIVE 2

Ensure the favorable management of ponds, lakes and their catchment areas, to maintain and enhance their conservation interest.

TARGET: by 2005

OBJECTIVE 3

Create 2,000 new ponds on land of low conservation importance, designed to create optimum biodiversity

TARGET: by 2010

Current Action

Knowledge of pond and lake distribution and quality is being gathered through a wide range of organisations and projects, and , although the National Pond Survey has representative high quality ponds in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset (c40 sites in total so far) a blanket survey identifying all the 'key' sites is still needed.

A biodiversity Plan for the Cotswold Water Park has been prepared by a steering group on behalf of the Parks Joint Committee.

A minority of the South West lakes, and an even smaller proportion of its ponds enjoy protection within reserves or under legal designation. Many organisations offer advice on pond and lake construction and management, but funding for its implementation is limited.

Policy and legislation

1. Define appropriate water quality standards, monitor and enforce (ongoing)
LEAD: EA

Management


Ensure that development schemes do not diminish the integrity or conservation value of ponds or lakes; where artificial lakes are lost due to e.g. mineral working, they should be replaced (-'99)
LEAD WTs
PARTNER: HCT


Ensure that 'key' sites are designated as County Wildlife Sites
LEAD: WTs
PARTNER: HCT

Encourage and facilitate the sympathetic management of catchment areas (-'05)
LEAD: EA
PARTNER: MAFF, NT
Seek funding management of 'key' sites (ongoing)
LEAD: MAFF, EN
PARTNER: WTs, NT, LAs

Encourage landowners (including schools) to construct new ponds, where appropriate (ongoing)
LEAD: WTs, FWAG, BTCV
PARTNERS: LAs, NT, HCT, NFU, CLA


Seek funding for pond and lake construction(ongoing)
LEAD : MAFF, WTs



Advisory

Establish consensus between organisations on management and design principles and produce an advisory leaflet (by '97)
LEAD: WTs, BTCV, FWAG, FL, BHS
PARTNERS: PCA; LAs, NFU, CLA, EA

Offer advice to farmers and landowners on conservation and management of ponds and lakes (ongoing)
LEAD: WTs, BTCV, FWAG
PARTNERS: PCA; LAs, NFU, CLA, EA



Research and monitoring

Prepare an inventory of all lakes (-'97)
LEAD WTs, ERCs
PARTNERS: WUs, EA

Gather knowledge of pond numbers and locations ('98)
LEAD WTs, EA


Participate in systematic pond/lake surveys (ongoing)
LEAD WTs, EA



Gather knowledge from site and species surveys to allow provisional identification of 'key' sites (-'99)
LEAD: WTs, HCT, HGBI, ERCs
PARTNER: BDS, EN

 



Education and awareness raising


Encourage appropriate recreational use, appreciation and understanding of standing open water for wildlife through interpretation, education and public involvement where appropriate (ongoing)
LEAD: WTs
PARTNERS: LAs, BTCV, WUs

Benefits

  • Educational opportunities;
  • Public amenity.
  • More attractive environments.
  • Opportunities for community involvement.
  • Landscape enhancement
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