SUFFOLK BIODIVERSITY ACTION PLANS:

Eutrophic standing waters have high levels of plant nutrients, often supporting algal blooms in mid summer and dark, anaerobic silts rich in organic matter. In their natural state, these waters have high biodiversity with plankton, submerged vegetation, numerous species of invertebrates and fish. Many natural bodies of open water in Suffolk are eutrophic or mesotrophic/eutrophic (medium rich in nutrients). The shallow lakes and ditch systems of the Broads are some of the richest areas for scarce plants in England.

1    Definition

The national action plan covers natural and man-made still waters such as gravel pits, reservoirs and lakes but it excludes small pools, field ponds and brackish waters. There are no accurate estimates of the amount of this habitat in the UK but it is likely to be around 1785 sq.km.
As an addition to the national action plan this Local BAP includes small ponds as well as large areas of open water. Actions with respect to ponds cannot strictly be reported as part of the process of the HAP. Eutrophic standing waters are important for certain priority BAP species eg Great crested newt, otter, water vole and rare snails as well as local character species e.g. water shrew.

2   Current status

2.1     Suffolk

In the Suffolk Broads, there are large water bodies (Fritton Lake, Flixton Decoy and Oulton Broad). Elsewhere in the county there are a number of lakes and meres which are of considerable wildlife value e.g. Redgrave, Culford and Great Livermere. Framlingham Mere has recently undergone restoration after silting up and Thorpeness Meare is a boating lake.
The construction of artificial areas of open water has been very significant within Suffolk. The largest of these is Alton Water reservoir which is host to large numbers of wintering wildfowl. There have been many excavations for gravel in river valleys and when flooded these are often used for fishing and water sports e.g. Weybread and Gipping valley pits although Lackford Lakes SSSI are gravel workings specifically restored with wildlife in mind.
Suffolk is said to have a very high density of ponds and according to the recent OS digital pond location gazetteer commissioned by the Suffolk Ponds Group, the estimate is 22,635 ponds. These have been considered to be stronghold for the Great crested newt, a priority species. Many landowners have taken advantage of grant aid and management advice available from Suffolk County Council for the restoration and creation of ponds over the past decade. Wildlife often thrives in isolated water bodies as they are cut off from main water courses which are much more likely to suffer from pollution or degradation.

2.2     Natural Areas

East Anglian Chalk, The Fens, The Brecklands, East Anglian Plain, Suffolk Coast and Heaths, The Broads.

3   Current factors affecting the habitat in Suffolk

• Water quality is affected by agricultural and urban run-off and sewage effluent which has not been phosphate stripped; organic and inorganic fertilizers and the atmospheric deposition of nitrogen can cause nutrient enrichment of the water, with consequent damage to plant and animal communities.
  

• Use of standing waters for recreation and sporting purposes causes detrimental impacts e.g. disturbance to wildfowl and trampling of vegetation; stirring up of sediments by the action of boats destroys aquatic plants and contributes to enrichment.
  
• Succession/lack of management plays an important role where there is no longer a viable reason for landowners to keep ponds. Grant aid schemes do not cover all ponds and there is often no incentive to pay the remainder of the cost involved.
  
• Infilling still occurs due to farming and development. Ponds are not valued highly and are often seen as expendable.
  
• The introduction of non-native plants and animals including fish affect the biodiversity of this habitat by establishing inappropriate waterside habitat. Some types of recreational fishing may lead to the loss of natural populations and may affect plant and invertebrate communities.
  
• A substantial change in water supply and throughput e.g. due to water abstraction, alters the character of water bodies. A rise in temperature will produce wide ranging effects e.g. acceleration of plant growth.

4    Current action

4.1 Legal status

• Some eutrophic waters are designated as SSSIs or CWS in Suffolk. Part of the Broadland SPA falls within Suffolk.
  

• ESAs include measures designed to benefit water courses and other water features and Suffolk has three; The Broads, The Suffolk River Valleys and The Brecks. Other agri-environment schemes which can benefit eutrophic water courses are Habitat Schemes, Countryside Stewardship and Wildlife Enhancement Schemes.
  
• The introduction of fish and fish spawn into inland waters, apart from fish farms, is subject to written consent from the Environment Agency (EA).
  
• A Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) has been identified for the Waveney catchment under the EC Nitrates Directive and a NVZ Action Programme is being undertaken by the Environment Agency. The EC Water Framework Directive (yet to be finalised) will require that measures are taken to ensure the ecological status of surface waters.

4.2 Management, research and guidance

• The Suffolk Ponds Group commissioned Ordnance Survey to summarise a list of features labelled “pond” from digital maps. Unpublished work by Jim Foster and Rosie Nonon in Sibton and Peasenhall parishes has shown that some ponds listed by the OS were infilled over a decade ago so the OS 3 yearly revision programme is not fully recording changes to ponds. Further ground surveys of ponds is needed to compare with mapped ponds.
  

• The Environment Agency will be implementing a national strategy for the control of eutrophication at a local level through Local Environment Action Plans.
  
• English Nature, the Broads Authority and the Environment Agency have commissioned a recent survey of the flora and invertebrate fauna of grazing marshes and ditches in the Waveney Valley.
  
• EN has published an agenda for the sustainable management of freshwaters.
  
• BA is developing an angling strategy for the Broads.

5    Action plan objectives and targets

1   Await national classification by EA by 2002 of eutrophic water bodies in Suffolk into three tiers according to naturalness, biodiversity and restoration potential. (The exact criteria for these categories have yet to be agreed and the total number of sites falling into each tier confirmed)
2    Ensure protection and continuation of favourable condition of eutrophic standing waters classified in Suffolk as Tier 1 by 2005
3    Restore 50% of Tier 2 sites damaged by human activity to favourable condition by 2020.
4    Ensure no further deterioration in water quality and wildlife of Tier 3 resource. This means no net loss.
5    Set up a pilot community pond initiative involving a network of volunteer wardens.

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Natterjack toad (Bufo calamita)

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These toads prefer the hot conditions and loose soil provided by sand dunes and lowland heathland around the coasts of Britain. They lay their eggs in shallow pools of water which heat quickly and provide favourable conditions for the tadpoles.

1     Current status

1.1     National

The Natterjack toad has suffered a substantial decline in numbers and range during the 20th century. Excluding translocation sites where populations have been recently re- established, the species can be found at four natural sites in Scotland and 35 in England, but has become extinct in Wales. It has now been introduced to 13 sites, including one in Wales.

1.2    Local

Natterjacks were recorded from Walberswick and several other Sandlings heaths as recently as the 1950s. It was recorded at Fritton Warren until c.1961 and it is generally agreed that it became extinct in Suffolk by the early 1960s. It was re-introduced to Wortham Ling in the 1960s and several other sites in the 1980s.

1.3    Natural Areas

Suffolk Coast and Heaths, East Anglian Plain and Suffolk Coast Maritime.

1.4    Protection

The species is listed on Appendix II of the Bern Convention and Annex IVa of the EC Habitats Directive. Also protected by Schedule 2 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc.) Regulations 1994, and Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

2   Current factors causing loss or decline

• Significant reduction in areas of suitable habitat due loss of heathland to agriculture and forestry and scrub encroachment on remaining heathland.
  

• Habitat fragmentation, leading to genetic isolation of populations.
  
• Loss of breeding pools.

3    Current action

• This species has been the subject of conservation action by both statutory and voluntary organisations (notably the British Herpetological Society) for over twenty years. A species recovery programme, funded by English Nature and the Countryside Council for Wales, was completed in June 1995. This included habitat management, research and translocation to suitable sites.
  
• In Suffolk, management work has involved scrub clearance and the creation of ponds at two heathlands on the coast. Under the Species Recovery Programme, spawn from a site in East Anglia has been translocated to one site.

4    Action plan objectives and targets

1    Maintain and enhance all existing populations of the amphibian at its re-introduction sites.
2    Undertake at least three further translocations to suitable sites in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths and East Anglian Plain Natural Area.

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Greater water-parsnip (Sium latifolium)

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This scarce plant is restricted to wet drainage ditches, tall herb fens and reed swamps that are subject to base-rich groundwater supply. It has suffered a serious national decline in recent decades due to various land management causes.

1     Current status

1.1     National

Its range and abundance have declined substantially over the last two centuries. It is now found in only 66 ten km squares south of a line from Flamborough Head and the River Severn, and indications are that this decline is continuing at a rapid rate.

1.2    Local

It is and always has been a very rare plant in Suffolk, with only 9 records since 1970. This is probably largely owing to lack of suitable habitat with a base-rich groundwater supply. Records are restricted to the Breckland fens and the Waveney Valley floodplain.

1.3     Natural Areas

Broads, Breckland.

1.4    Protection

General protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.

2   Current factors causing loss or decline

• Lack of management of fens, reed swamp and drainage ditches leading to litter build-up, scrub encroachment and succession to carr woodland.
  

• Inappropriate management of drainage ditches, such as short cleaning rotations or removing too much vegetation at anyone time.
  
• Drainage of marshes for arable production.

3  Current Action

• Most post-1980 records are from sites that receive general habitat protection.
  

• Carlton Marshes is managed under Broads ESA Agreement and as an SSSI.
  
• Howlett Hills and Hurst Fen is a County Wildlife Site.

4   Action plan objectives and targets

1   Maintain and, if possible, enhance the current population.
2  Increase knowledge of the distribution of the species.
3  Seek highest level of protection for all sites.

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