Dig ponds to treble number of rare species, experts urge

PONDS give regional biodiversity an “unprecedented” lift, potentially trebling the number of rare plants and bringing back largely extinct species, a study suggests.

For nine years, researchers monitored a network of 20 clean-water ponds, established on sites where they would not be affected by road pollution or agriculture, over a six sq mile area of farmland in Leicestershire.

They recorded a 26 per cent rise in the number of wetland plant species and a 181 per cent increase in regionally rare plants, including marsh arrowgrass and bristle club-rush, both of which had been brought back from near extinction.

The steady loss of natural freshwater environments as a result of pollution, drainage and other measures has caused the loss of species that once thrived in the countryside.

The outcomes, published in the journal Biological Conservation, were the first major results from the Water Friendly Farming project, a long-term collaboration between the Freshwater Habitats Trust, Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, the University of York, the Environment Agency and landowners in Leicestershire.

Penny Williams, the lead author, from Freshwater Habitats Trust, said: “The gains we saw are unprecedented for freshwater. Our previous work had shown that ponds were a secret treasure in the countryside, with a value out of proportion to their tiny size; however, the scale of benefits from adding new ponds took all of us by surprise.”

Ponds are much cheaper than many other measures to boost biodiversity, costing just £1,500-£2,000 to create.