Only their association with fresh water links the four BAP species featured in this edition. Two rare plants, one bird and one small mammal each depend on wet habitat, though there is no place in Suffolk where all four can be found together. Pillwort is a sub-aquatic plant found only near the reservoirs at Lound, in the north of the county. Tassel stonewort is a vulnerable green alga known only from a single ditch near Mickfield. The water shrew is less rare, and has been identified as a character species of Suffolk; it requires clear, fast-flowing, unpolluted streams, ponds or ditches. The reed bunting inhabits reed beds and other wetland habitats, and is declining, though not yet rare.
The enormous efforts recently put in hand to re-create reed beds are already having a beneficial effect for wetland birds - locally at Lakenheath Fen, for example. The water shrew is rather more demanding in terms of water quality, and survey work is ongoing, since its population status is by no means clear at present. Survey work is also important for pillwort, which looks rather grass-like, and may well be under-recorded; meanwhile, protecting the existing site and maintaining the health of the population is all the Action Plan can aim for. Halting any further decline, and site protection measures are similar considerations for the tassel stonewort, with the added hope that dormant buried oospores might be stimulated to germinate. The individual Species Action Plans reproduced below show the thought that goes into the BAP process.
| Pillwort |
| Tassel Stonewort |
| Reed Bunting |
| Water Shrew |
Pillwort (Pilularia globulifera)
This sub aquatic plant, related to the ferns, has always been rare in East Anglia, though this may be due to under recording because of its grass-like appearance.
1 Current Status
1.1 National
Pillwort, though declining throughout
its range across Western Europe, is widely scattered 
in Britain from the Outer
Isles of Scotland to the south coast of England. It grows where there is
occasional disturbance in shallow water and on bare land.
1.2 Local
Apart from two old records, it has only ever been recorded in Suffolk from the gently shelving banks of some of the natural reservoirs at Lound, which supply drinking water to the Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth areas. Since the northern part of Suffolk was transferred to Norfolk some years ago, the sites have been equally divided between the two counties, although they all remain in the Vice County of East Suffolk (VC 25).
1.3 Natural Areas
Suffolk Coast and Heaths.
1.4 Protection
Classified as Nationally Scarce (i.e. it occurs in between 16 and 100 ten km squares in Britain), it receives only general protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.
2 Current factors causing loss or decline
Growth of competitive vegetation and lack of marginal disturbance due to reduced grazing by cattle,sheep or deer.
Introduction of competitive alien vegetation with similar habitat needs, e.g. New Zealand pygmy weed (Crassula helmsii).
Lack of regular water level fluctuations.
Due to the site being a reservoir for public water supply, many of the causes of loss or decline nationally do not apply at Lound.
3 Current Action
The Lound site is designated as a County Wildlife Site.
The site has been visited by Suffolk Wildlife Trust staff and A. C. Jermy (British Museum) in recent years to confirm that Pillwort was still present.Re-checked by Peter Lawson in 1998.
Further new sites may be found as a direct result of the county- wide survey in process for Atlas 2000 and a new Suffolk Flora.
4 Action plan objectives and targets
Maintain and, if appropriate, enhance the existing population at
Lound.
2 Seek the highest level of protection for the site.
Tassel stonewort (Tolypella intricata)
This internationally threatened species is declining throughout most of its range. It is listed as Vulnerable in the British Red Data Book and occurs at one site in Suffolk. It is a member of the Charophyceae (stoneworts), a small class of green algae with complex structures.
1 Current status
1.1 National
The species is resticted to small
populations in southern England in Gloucestershire, 
Worcestershire,
Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk and is classed as Vulnerable in the British
Red Data Book. Since 1970 it has only been found at seven sites (22
waterbodies).
1.2 Local
In Suffolk it occurs only in one small ditch between arable fields at Mickfield.
1.3 Natural Areas
East Anglian Plain.
1.4 Protection
None.
2 Current factors causing loss or decline
The type of habitat required by this species is in decline. Small ponds are still disappearing through neglect or infil1ing at an alarming rate. It is likely that the species requires fairly heavy poaching around the pond/waterbody to encourage germination. It may also suffer from shade, either directly or due to dense accumulation of leaf litter. Other threats include eutrophication from phosphate leachate from improved grassland, drainage of seasonally inundated grassland and decline in grazing. It is possible that the rarity of this species is a function of poor dispersal capability , rather than specialised ecological requirements.
3 Current action
It is interesting to note that this species was found at the Mickfield site after a gap of 25 years. It is capable of surviving for some time as dormant buried oospores. These can be stimulated to germinate by poaching or ditch clearance.
At the Mickfield site the water quality appears to be quite good despite the arable situation. There is a broad rough margin to both parts of the ditch that may help reduce the amount of leachate reaching the water.
The ditches are normally cleared out every ten years and were last done about six years ago. It is likely that there are dormant oospores over a wider stretch of the ditch and that a larger population will emerge when the ditch is next cleared.
4 Action plan objectives and targets
Halt any further decline in the population at the extant site
2 Designate the site as a County Wildlife Site.
3 Maintain optimum growing conditions at the site (i.e. keep the ditch cleared out to prevent build up of organic silt and reduce competition.
4 Persuade the owner to do further clearance to provide information on the extent and strength of the population.
5 Investigate ditches flowing both east and west from this site to see if there are further populations.
Reed bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
The Reed bunting is a bird of wetland sites, and also increasingly of farmland since the 1960's. It is widespread across the UK, but like other birds associated with farmland, has declined markedly in recent decades.
1 Current status
1.1 National
The Reed bunting inhabits reedbeds and 
other wetland habitats, as well as drier farmland sites such as overgrown
ditches and hedgerows. The species is found throughout Britain and Ireland,
though it is scarcer in the uplands and the far north and west. A decline in
numbers has occurred in recent years. In Britain, BTO census results show a
relatively high population level from the late 1960s to the mid 1970s, followed
by a decrease of more than 50% to a new, more stable lower level during the
early 1980s. The Waterways Bird Survey, in particular, showed a steep decline
from 1974 to 1983, but little change in numbers since then. The species also
decreased in range by around 12% between the two breeding atlas periods
(1968-72 and 1988-91), with the UK population estimated at around 220,000 pairs
during the latter period.
1.2 Local
The Provisional Suffolk Bird Atlas (1993) recorded this species in 18% of 2 km tetrads, with confirmed breeding found in around 150 of these tetrads. The distribution correlates well with river and wetland habitats.
1.3 Natural Areas
All.
1.4 Protection
The Reed bunting is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and EC Birds Directive, and is listed on Appendix II of the Bern Convention.
2 Current factors causing loss or decline
The decline of the Reed bunting has occurred at the same time as decreases in the numbers and/or range of a suite of other farmland birds, many of which share its diet of cereal, grass and wildflower seeds, and also feed their young on insects. It is therefore likely that its decline on farmland may be largely due to changes in agricultural practice-
l The increased use of pesticides and fertilisers.
l The switch from spring-sown to autumn-sown crops and the consequent loss of winter stubble fields-
l The more intensive use of grassland.
l The general reduction in habitat diversity on farmland due to the loss of mixed farming and increased specialisation.
l Deterioration of wet habitats may have had a serious effect on populations.
3 Current action
l The Reed bunting has not been regarded previously as a priority species for conservation action, but it is likely to have benefited incidentally from initiatives for other wetland species since it readily moves into newly created wetlands. Conservation organisations have devoted considerable resources to the acquisition and management of reedbeds, wet grassland, saltmarsh and other wetlands.
l The species has also benefited from rotational set-aside, although this has been significantly reduced in area in recent years. New prescriptions encouraging the growth of spring-sown cereals and retention of winter stubbles in the pilot Arable Stewardship Scheme should benefit the Reed bunting. However, these need to be more widely available to influence the county population.
l The Fen Tier in the Suffolk River Valleys ESA may help the Reed bunting by allowing specific reed habitat management (within a Fen Management Plan) sensitive to this species. Tiers 1 and 3 also will aid with the provision of winter food.
l The Breckland ESA seeks to promote the suitable management of River Valley Grassland within Tier 3. One objective is to encourage management which maintains reed habitats, and this is helped with a Water Level Supplement where water levels are appropriately managed.
4 Action plan objectives and targets
1 Halt the decline in range of the Reed bunting the county, and then to increase it to include areas occupied in the 1968-1976 Atlas by 2008. Because this species readily colonises new wetland sites, any newly created or renovated sites should also be included in this target.
2 Establish the population size of the Reed bunting within the county by 2003 to allow” monitoring of any changes in population sizes.
Water shrew (Neomys fodiens)
This small insectivore is usually
associated with clear, fast-flowing, unpolluted streams and rivers and also
ponds, drainage ditches and reed beds. Its population status 
is not clear as
data is scarce, but it is likely to be vulnerable to habitat loss and the
effects of pollution. The water shrew has been identified as a’ character’
species of Suffolk.
1 Current Status
1.1 National
Widespread distribution throughout mainland Britain, but nowhere is it common. Insufficient information available on which to assess population changes.
1.2 Local
Widespread distribution but few records.
1.3 Natural Areas
East Anglian Plain, Suffolk Coast and Heaths, Breckland.
1.4Protection
All shrew species are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 (Schedule 6); it is illegal to capture or kill them except under licence.
2 Current factors causing loss or decline
There is recent concern, although lacking in firm evidence, that water shrews may be declining due to habitat destruction and disturbance through modification of riverbanks, and clearance of vegetation. Water shrew populations associated with drainage ditches, ponds and other aquatic habitats may also be similarly affected. Recommended management includes: avoiding disturbance during the breeding season; carrying work out from one bank leaving the opposite bank intact or leaving at least one third of the watercourse intact to act as a refuge; where possible, de-silting should not interfere with banksides and spoil should be carefully disposed of.
The effects of lowered water quality are unclear, but may be significant in reducing water shrew numbers.
3 Current action
Local surveys to record the presence of water shrews are being promoted by Suffolk Wildlife Trust and the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society /Suffolk Biological Records Centre.
The Water shrew is listed as a target species within the Anglian Otters and Rivers Project (1999-2001), a joint project between Suffolk and Norfolk Wildlife Trusts, Water Authorities and the Environment Agency.
4 Action plan objectives and targets
1 ldentify sites where water shrews occur.
2 Maintain and enhance water shrew populations at these sites through appropriate management.
© 2003 Suffolk Naturalists' Society