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Keil, Samuel (2024) ‘Pond conservation management: a chemical and palaeolimnological approach in the Severn Vale, UK’. Masters thesis, University of Gloucestershire. doi:10.46289/FJIS1280
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Abstract
Global fresh water ecology is being degraded by anthropogenic climate change since the industrial revolution as indicated by paleolimnological studies. Ponds provide ecological benefits to surrounding habitats and so are a focus of ecological protection. Agricultural areas hold the highest contemporary concentration of ponds. The Severn Vale is the lowland areas surrounding the River Severn in the south west of the UK. Most of this area is used for agricultural purposes. Study on ponds is limited within the Severn Vale and so water quality assessment, pond diatom assemblages and comparison to paleo diatom assemblages in novel for the area. 7 water quality variables were tested for 11 ponds and compared to a water quality data set of 105 Severn Vale ponds. All values for phosphate and dissolved oxygen met or were outside of ecological harm thresholds. All other values were within thresholds. Ubiquitous alkaline pH values are attributed to a buffering effect from the alkaline base rock of the area. Top 1cm surface sediment samples were collected for 10 of the ponds and a 26.5cm fossil core collect for one. Diatoms were separated, mounted on microscope plates and counted from each surface sediment and from 54 sample depths of the fossil core. PCA of the contemporary diatoms and water quality mostly agreed with previous research on diatom condition preferences; highly abundant species Hippodonta capitata prefers increased water nutrient and Fragilaria bidens and Encyonema minitum signify low water nutrient levels. Dissolved oxygen and suspended solids explained most of the variation in diatom assemblages in CCA analysis. Changing diatom assemblage within the fossil core showed increasing water nutrient levels particularly phosphate, which was corroborated by increasing LOI values denoting increasing productivity of the pond. MAT transfer function predictions show 1.5 times increase to phosphate, a 2 time increase to suspended solids and with dissolved oxygen approaching 0%. Predictions for other water quality are stable. Control of phosphate, suspended solids and dissolved oxygen is identified as imperative for conservation action and restoration of ponds.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) | |||||||||
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | ponds; fresh water ecology; conservation | |||||||||
| Subjects: | G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General) G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences |
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| Divisions: | Schools and Research Institutes > School of Education, Health and Sciences | |||||||||
| Depositing User: | Anne Pengelly | |||||||||
| Date Deposited: | 06 Oct 2026 14:57 | |||||||||
| Last Modified: | 06 Oct 2026 14:58 | |||||||||
| URI: | https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/16569 |
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