Ponds are small freshwater bodies, typically up to 2 hectares in area, which can include natural features like lochans, bog pools, and man-made features such as farm ponds or quarries. They hold water year-round or seasonally, and are vital for biodiversity, supporting invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles, and rare aquatic plants. These habitats are home to priority species like the Great Crested Newt, Natterjack Toad, and Medicinal Leech. These small water bodies provide essential breeding habitats for invertebrates and amphibians, especially ponds that typically do not have fish in them. Presence of species like Carp or Brown Trout in ponds can severely reduce biodiversity through predation on larvae/eggs.
Ponds play a crucial role in strengthening nature networks across Scotland as they act as stepping stones that are often interconnected to wetlands, rivers and restored habitats. A well-connected network of ponds can help improve landscape-scale resilience against climate change by retaining water in the landscape and groundwater recharge during droughts, improving water quality, and providing space for species during extreme weather events. Their small size and high biodiversity also make them more resilient to climate change than larger water bodies.
‘Ghost ponds’ are historical ponds that have been lost to drainage, deliberate infilling, or lost naturally to vegetation overgrowth. They often have buried seed banks and invertebrate eggs, which once they are exposed and re-wetted will allow species to recolonise. Restoration of ponds by re-excavating ghost ponds can be an efficient and cost-effective form of reviving biodiversity, while at the same time enhancing nature corridors in fragmented habitats.
Images: Craig Macadam / Buglife
Action Needed
- Advocate for ponds to be recognised as priority freshwater habitats within biodiversity and climate frameworks.
- Push for a Pond Strategy for Scotland.
- Push for increased funding for mapping and restoration of ghost ponds.
- Support the strengthening of planning policies to prevent loss from development and infilling.
- Advocate to stop the sale of flea and tick treatments containing pesticides already banned in outdoor agricultural use.
- Support the implementation of effective management and monitoring of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDs) to promote and enhance benefits for wildlife.
Threats
- Pollution and Climate change – Nutrient enrichment from agricultural runoff and warming water temperatures as a result of climate change, can lead to algal blooms that outcompete native aquatic plants, deplete oxygen levels and produce toxins that are harmful to wildlife. Warmer temperatures and altered rainfall patterns also enable the spread and establishment of invasive non-native species in freshwater habitats. Frequent and severe dry spells during summer months can dry out ponds, impact species survival and reduce water levels.
- Loss through deliberate infilling – Direct filling of existing ponds to create more arable land and improve drainage has contributed to a 50% decline in small waterbodies in the UK.
- Loss as a result of natural processes – Succession can lead to vegetation overgrowth or natural infilling of ponds over time, changing these small water bodies to become marshes or dry habitats.
- Dogs swimming in ponds disturbs the bed and can make the water cloudy, leading to the loss of aquatic plants. Flea and tick treatments can also wash into the water where they will harm invertebrate populations present.
MSP Nature Champion
Member for:
