Archive
PONDERING PONDS
20/06/2024
We have been protecting ponds in our survey and landscape management work for nearly forty years, ever since we started Betts Ecology in fact. Indeed, whenever a development project to which we have been appointed as consultants and has had to remove a pond that could not be retained, we have tried to ensure that not just one, but two new ones were created in its place. We also ensure that the original pond being lost would be carefully surveyed and its nekton, plankton and benthos translocated to inoculate the new ones. Similarly, when natural processes of ecological succession have led to ponds silting up, becoming desiccated and being overtaken by terrestrial, non-aquatic species’ assemblages, we work to ensure the restoration of the watery environment and its denizens.
Ponds are exceptionally valuable habitats for wildlife, supporting a wide range of flora and fauna. It has been estimated that over a thousand species occur in small, fresh water ecosystems of this type in Britain. We wrote a guidance sheet on ponds a few years ago which I have reproduced for you below.
One of the main keys to success is planting. Vegetation should be of native origin, if possible, from a local donor site, and include a range of species suitable for the different micro-habitats of the pond.
Alisma plantago-aquatica water plantain
Alopecurus geniculatus marsh foxtail
Callitriche stagnalis common water starwort
Caltha palustris marsh marigold
Carex riparia greater pond sedge
Ceratophyllum demersum rigid hornwort
Epilobium hirsutum great willow-herb
Glyceria fluitans floating sweet-grass
Juncus effusus soft rush
Iris pseudacorus yellow flag
Mentha aquatica water mint
Myosotis scorpioides water forget-me-not
Myriophyllum spicatum spiked water milfoil
Nuphar lutea yellow water-lily
Persicaria amphibia amphibious bistort
Ranunculus aquatilis water crow-foot
Veronica beccabunga brooklime
Ecological terms for pond communities (the nekton is the assemblage of actively swimming organisms in the water body)
A bucketful of the mud and sludge from a local healthy pond is a good way to inoculate a new pond with micro-organisms. Ponds can suffer all kinds of problems, though - blanket weed, duckweed and invasive exotic water-plants, cyanobacteria, algal blooms, eutrophication – there’s a long list.
Betts Ecology will always protect ponds and create new ones wherever we can. We can provide designs for ponds of different types as well as supervising construction, establishment and management.
© Betts Ecology
