New ponds boost plant diversity: Water Friendly Farming results presented in Portugal

Freshwater Habitats Trust Plant Ecologist Dr Astrid Biddle presented findings from the long-running project at the International Symposium on Aquatic Plants in Lisbon, Portugal. 

The project has been carrying out plant surveys across the three Water Friendly Farming catchments for 14 years. In her presentation, Astrid outlined measures implemented at two of the catchments – including the creation of new clean water ponds – and shared data from annual monitoring. 

Astrid highlighted how adding new clean water ponds had increased the number of wetland plant species by 16% and roughly doubled the number of uncommon wetland plant species. 

Delegates also heard about the overall loss in plant biodiversity since monitoring work began in 2010.  

Astrid shared best practice for creating new clean water ponds for wildlife, including ensuring there were no inflows and positioning ponds in semi-natural catchments. She said: “There was a lot of interest in Water Friendly Farming from the other delegates. They were impressed that the work had such relevant implications for practitioners, so we hope that some of the lessons we’ve learned about the value of clean water ponds can be applied internationally.”