See Jeremy Cooke’s report on the publication of the Countryside Survey Pond Report 2007.
The report was written jointly by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) and Pond Conservation.
The Countryside Survey is jointly funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Natural Environment Research Council and other statutory bodies.
Analysis of the pond data was jointly funded by Pond Conservation and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.
February 7, 2010 at 6:34 pm |
Hi Jeremy,
I was wondering if you could give pond owners some advice about minimising pollutants after their ponds have been created. Filling the pond with rain water is presumably a good start, but one of our ponds is located at the bottom of a slope and I’m pretty sure that pollutants in the soil do leach into the ponds during periods of heavy rainfall (if not all the time). Any idea what kind of substances are worst for wildlife and in what quantities they can be a problem? I’m thinking about things like weed killer, plant and lawn food, chemicals to control pests and even water from the sprinkler entering the pond.
Also, are there any good plant or animal indicators that can tell pond owners about water quality without the need for expensive monitoring instruments? For example does our absence of caddis fly larvae suggest any particular pollutants?
Cheers,
Helen.