Pond biodiversity and habitat loss in the UK |
| |
| Authors: | P J Wood M T Greenwood M D Agnew |
| |
| Institution: | Department of Geography, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3TU Emails: and; School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ Email: |
| |
| Abstract: | Ponds are common landscape features but have been poorly studied compared to other freshwater habitats in the UK, despite their high frequency of occurrence. In the last century, many ponds have been lost and those that remain face increasing pressure due to agricultural land drainage, pollution and urban development. However, ponds provide important habitats for diverse floral and faunal communities, including a number of rare taxa of conservation interest. This paper examines the biodiversity and wider environmental value of ponds, with particular reference to the aquatic invertebrate and amphibian communities they support, and the adverse impact of anthropogenic activity on their aquatic habitats. |
| |
| Keywords: | UK ponds aquatic invertebrates biodiversity conservation habitat loss |
|
|
