A STAGGERING 90 per cent of the UK’s wetlands has disappeared in the last century but there is good news as the conservation team at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust is tackling this loss by ramping up their wetland enhancement work.
Wetlands are environmentally important. Plant matter decays and remains in a waterlogged environment helping to hold carbon. Many wetlands will be peat forming and this becomes an important habitat for nature.
At Langford Lakes in Steeple Langford in Salisbury, a recently constructed lake, reedbed and wet grasslands will support a variety of wading birds of conservation concern which includes lapwings and bitterns.
The conservation work has been supported by SITA Trust, Viridor Credits Environmental Company, Wiltshire, and Swindon Community Foundation and recently, via the Network for Nature project which is funded by National Highways.
Conservation manager for Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, Ashley White said: “In addition to providing vital wildlife habitat, wetlands are highly effective at locking up carbon, which means that wetland restoration and expansion can provide a nature-based solution to mitigating climate change.
“It also reduces the impacts of severe weather like drought and heavy rain by storing water in the floodplain and slowing the flow into rivers.”
Work is also being carried out on other nature reserves across Wiltshire and the aim is to work with landowners and farmers to create 20 ponds a year. This will provide natural flood management benefits but will also attract species such as Great Crested Newts.
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust along with other wildlife trusts are planning on specific objectives to help nature cope with the extremes of climate change including drought, fire and flooding as well as working with farmers, developers, and water firms to reduce pollution.
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