(Iaps) and Other Small Waterbodies in Northern Ireland Quercus Project QU09-03
Natural Heritage Research Partnership Important Areas for Ponds (IAPs) and other small waterbodies in Northern Ireland Quercus Project QU09-03 Bog pool at Montiaghs Moss Nature Reserve and ASSI Prepared for the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) by Helen Keeble, Penny Williams, Jeremy Biggs, Pond Conservation & Neil Reid, Natural Heritage Research Partnership, Quercus This report should be cited as: Keeble, H. Williams, P. Biggs, J. & Reid, N. (2009) Important Areas for Ponds (IAPs) and other small waterbodies in Northern Ireland. Report prepared by Pond Conservation and the Natural Heritage Research Partnership, Quercus for the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, Northern Ireland, UK. Pond Conservation c/o Oxford Brookes University Gipsy Lane, Headington Oxford, OX3 0BP www.pondconservation.org.uk Quercus project QU09-03 Quercus hosts the Natural Heritage Research Partnership between the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and Queen's University Belfast. http://www.quercus.ac.uk/ www.quercus.ac.uk Acknowledgements We would like to thank all those who provided data, photos or other information for this assessment, and especially those who took time to visit sites with us in June 2009. In particular: Bob Davidson, Brian Nelson, Catherine McSorley, Jane Preston, John Early, Lynne Rendle, Marcus Malley, Mary Gallagher, Patrick Kelly, Richard Weyl, Seamus Burns and Tony Waterman. Report production: July 2009 Consultation: August 2009 SUMMARY Ponds are an important freshwater habitat that has been shown to play a key role in maintaining biodiversity at landscape level. However, ponds are also vulnerable to environmental degradation and there is evidence that, at a national level, pond quality is declining. In 2007, the biodiversity importance of ponds was recognised when high quality ponds (Priority Ponds) were added to the list of UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Priority Habitats.
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