COST Action short term scientific mission – Lake Akrotiri, Cyprus

Jodey Peyton, Owen Mountford and Oli Pescott from the NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), Wallingford, UK, together with Marilena Onete of the Institute of Biology (Romanian Academy), spent two weeks in mid-October 2015 mapping the extent of several invasive alien plant species around the salt lake on the Akrotiri, Cyprus. They mapped over 100 ha of invasive alien woody species around the lake and completed 112 vegetation quadrats throughout the survey area that also incorporated information on canopy cover and vegetation structure. The following Cyprus Plant Red Data Book (RDB) species were found during the surveys; Cladium mariscus, Crypsis factorovskyi, Isolepis cernua, Linum maritimum, Mentha aquatica, Juncus littoralis, Pancratium maritimum and Phyla nodiflora. Through the surveys and the correspondence with local scientists and natural historians, it is considered that Acacia saligna is the most potentially damaging invasive alien species. It is considered to be the one most likely to have implications on both human health (through potentially providing suitable habitat for harbouring pest species such as mosquitos) and a detrimental impact on native biodiversity through encroachment into the saltmarsh areas and competition; as such management options should be considered

A simple model to quantify the potential trade-off between water level management for ecological benefit and flood risk

Throughout the world, historic drainage of wetlands has resulted in a reduction in the area of wet habitat and corresponding loss of wetland plant and animal species. In an attempt to reverse this trend, water level management in some drained areas is trying to replicate a more natural ‘undrained’ state. The resulting hydrological regime is likely to be more suitable to native wetland species; however the raised water levels also represent a potential reduction in flood water storage capacity. Quantifying this reduction is critical if the arguments for and against wetland restoration are to be discussed in a meaningful way. We present a simple model to quantify the hydrological storage capacity of a drainage ditch network under different water level management scenarios. The model was applied to the Somerset Levels and Moors, UK, comparing areas with and without raised water level management. The raised water level areas occupy 11% of the maximum theoretical storage but when put in the context of the recent severe flooding of winter 2013/2014 occupy only 0.6% of the total flood volume and represent an average increase in flood level of 7 mm. These results indicate that although the raised water level scheme does occupy an appreciable volume of the maximum possible ditch storage, in relation to a large flood event the volume is very small. It therefore seems unlikely that the severity of such large flood events would be significantly reduced if the current water level management for ecological benefit ceased

Restoring riparian ecosystems: The challenge of accommodating variability and designing restoration trajectories

Flood disturbance processes play a key role in the functioning of riparian ecosystems and in the maintenance of biodiversity along river corridors. As a result, riparian ecosystems can be described as mobile habitat mosaics characterized by variability and unpredictability. Any river restoration initiative should aim to mimic these attributes. This paper suggests that there needs to be an increased institutional capacity to accept some levels of both variability and unpredictability in the ecological outcomes of river restoration projects. Restoration projects have frequently used some form of historical or contemporary reference system to define objectives and to help in the evaluation process. Using these reference systems can give a false sense of the predictability of ecological outcomes. We suggest that reference systems need to be used with caution for six reasons: (1) there are often no appropriate reference systems to use, (2) many catchment parameters have changed since the times of chosen historic reference systems, (3) climate change has been continuous throughout the Holocene, (4) projected climate change is of uncertain magnitude, (5) alien species cannot be avoided, and (6) landscape context changes through time. As well as defining short-term objectives, we suggest that river restoration projects should also formulate longer-term (decadel) restoration trajectories that are less predictable but more representative of real system attributes. Restoration trajectories could be defined using a range of ecological outcomes to accommodate interannual variability. The challenges of defining what levels of variability are important for restoring European floodplain forests are used to demonstrate the difficulties of broadening approaches and creating trajectories. In particular, the changing significance of variability at different spatial and temporal scales is discussed. An account is given of a restoration project at Wicken Fen in the United Kingdom in which nondeterministic approaches to goal setting have been initiated

COST Action short term scientific mission – Alien plant species in Overseas Territories in Cyprus, 5th-18th March 2017

Two weeks were spent in March 2017 surveying alien species in Cyprus, building on work conducted during an earlier mission. The surveys were directed within four key areas: the Akrotiri Forest; phrygana within both the Akrotiri and Dhekelia Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs); and the Fassouri marsh

Meadows and more: a botanical journal of five days on the Uists, Benbecula and Eriskay

In the first week of July 2018, the Floodplain Meadows Partnership (FMP) held its annual steering group meeting with field excursions on the Outer Hebrides. The aim of the field part of our meeting was to familiarise ourselves with wet meadows (including those on machair) of the Uists and Benbecula, and compare their composition and ecology with related habitats further south in the UK. However, a chance for us to explore the other habitats of these islands was too good an opportunity to miss. Hence five of us arrived on the islands a few days before the main group and roamed more extensively, looking at a wide range of habitats in addition to meadows. The lead author’s role in this botanical journal was to note incidental observations made in addition to the formal study of the meadows. Hilary Wallace directed the quadrat recording in wet meadows, and the overall programme of work was coordinated by David Gowing and Emma Rothero of the Open University. Even during the FMP field excursions, we could not ignore other habitats entirely and Stewart Clarke (National Trust Freshwaters and Estuaries Specialist) paid special attention to the aquatic flora

Meadows and more: a botanical journal of five days on the Uists, Benbecula and Eriskay

In the first week of July 2018, the Floodplain Meadows Partnership (FMP) held its annual steering group meeting with field excursions on the Outer Hebrides. The aim of the field part of our meeting was to familiarise ourselves with wet meadows (including those on machair) of the Uists and Benbecula, and compare their composition and ecology with related habitats further south in the UK. However, a chance for us to explore the other habitats of these islands was too good an opportunity to miss. Hence five of us arrived on the islands a few days before the main group and roamed more extensively, looking at a wide range of habitats in addition to meadows. The lead author’s role in this botanical journal was to note incidental observations made in addition to the formal study of the meadows. Hilary Wallace directed the quadrat recording in wet meadows, and the overall programme of work was coordinated by David Gowing and Emma Rothero of the Open University. Even during the FMP field excursions, we could not ignore other habitats entirely and Stewart Clarke (National Trust Freshwaters and Estuaries Specialist) paid special attention to the aquatic flora

Soil invertebrate communities as indicator of ecological conservation status of some fertilised grasslands from Romania

Quantification of soil biological status, through investigation of edaphic communities’ composition, constitutes an important factor for the assessment of the grassland ecosystems, including their protection. The structure of soil invertebrate communities was investigated for five grasslands under different chemical and organic treatments, for the first time in Romania. In order to accomplish this task, some structural parameters were quantified: numerical abundance, taxa richness, Shannon diversity index of taxa and equitability. We demonstrated the relationship between five environmental factors (vegetation coverage, soil temperature, soil acidity, soil resistance at penetration, soil moisture content) and the community structures of soil fauna. In total, 17 invertebrate groups were identified with a total numerical abundance of 14,953 individuals. Considering the numerical abundance, the dominant taxa were Acaridae, Collembola, Oribatida and Mesostigmata, the least dominant being Coleoptera, Opiliones and Araneae. In spatial dynamics the investigated plots were characterised specifically by soil invertebrates’ communities’ structures, highlighted by the varied values of structural parameters: by indicator taxa and by the characteristic average values of environmental parameters. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that the most important environment parameters influencing the soil taxa were vegetation coverage (especially on Acaridae, Glycyphagidae and Formicoidea) and soil resistance at penetration (Nematoda and Coleoptera). This study constitutes a scientific argument for the usage of soil invertebrate communities as indicators of the ecological conservation status of some fertilised grasslands

Discrete wetland groundwater discharges revealed with a three-dimensional temperature model and botanical indicators (Boxford, UK)

Wetlands provide unique goods and services, as habitats of high biodiversity. Hydrology is the principal control on wetland functioning; hence, understanding the water source is fundamental. However, groundwater inflows may be discrete and easily missed. Research techniques are required with low cost and minimal impact in sensitive settings. In this study, the effectiveness of using a three-dimensional (3D) temperature model and botanical indicators to characterise groundwater discharge is explored at the CEH (Centre for Ecology and Hydrology) River Lambourn Observatory, Boxford, UK. This comprises a 10 ha lowland riparian wetland, designated for its scientific interest and conservation value. Temperature data were collected in winter at multiple depths down to 0.9 m over approximately 3.6 ha and transformed into a 3D model via ordinary kriging. Anomalous warm zones indicated distinct areas of groundwater upwelling which were concurrent with relic channel structures. Lateral heat propagation from the channels was minimal and restricted to within 5–10 m. Vertical temperature sections within the channels suggest varying degrees of groundwater discharge along their length. Hydrochemical analysis showed that warmer peat waters were akin to deeper aquifer waters, confirming the temperature anomalies as areas of groundwater discharge. Subsequently, a targeted vegetation survey identified Carex paniculata as an indicator of groundwater discharge. The upwelling groundwater contains high concentrations of nitrate which is considered to support the spatially restricted growth of Carex paniculata against a background of poor fen communities located in reducing higher-phosphate waters