2014 Natural England condition assessment of Plumpudding Lagoon and Coldharbour Lagoon.
MRNE017700000007
Survey name: 2014 Natural England condition assessment of Plumpudding Lagoon and Coldharbour Lagoon. This is a collation of surveys to gather data and evidence from a variety of marine environments. The survey purposes vary and include recommended Marine Conservation Zone (rMCZ) Phase I or II verification surveys, condition assessments, surveys of features of Natura 2000 sites (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area), Intertidal surveys, Benthic grab surveys and others. All surveys are carried out to specified standards and follow established methodologies. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year]. Attribution statement: Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].
dataset
https://data.nbn.org.uk/Datasets/GA001574
protocol: WWW:DOWNLOAD-1.0-http--download
name:
description: Natural England Access to Evidence Catalogue
57ebd6a8-08d0-46c6-9253-547c27854df6
eng
http://www.opengis.net/def/crs/EPSG/0/27700
environment
OpenData
NEbatch3
Habitats and biotopes
publication
2014-10-03
1.23
1.26
51.38
51.377
http://data.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/doc/country/england
03/10/2014
03/10/2014
creation
2016-09-30
publication
2016-09-30
notPlanned
"The Institute of Estuarine and Coastal Studies (IECS) was commissioned by Natural England (NE) to undertake a baseline ecological survey of the Plumpudding lagoon and Coldharbour lagoon during autumn of 2014, in order to generate the information required to allow a condition assessment to be produced.lagoon and Coldharbour lagoon are located within the Thanet Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the north Kent coast (Figure 1). Thanet Coast amalgamates four SSSIs: Bishopstone Cliffs, Plumpudding Island, North Thanet Coast and North Cliff Broadstairs. This site, extending almost uninterrupted from Swalecliffe to Ramsgate, comprises mainly unstable cliff, shingle, sand and mudflats, with smaller areas of saltmarsh and coastal lagoons. The two lagoons of interest for this study, Plumpudding lagoon and Coldharbour lagoon lie in a depression between a high shingle ridge and a sea wall that runs between Reculver and Birchington-on-Sea on the north Kent coast and lies within both the Thanet Coast and Sandwich Bay Ramsar/SPA and the Thanet Coast SSSI. lagoon appears to have formed due to over-topping of the barrier, the latter being a wide bank of shingle, 4-5 m high on the seaward margin. Although the ridge was occasionally managed by the Environment Agency, there is natural transport of shingle originating from the barrier in front of Coldharbour lagoon and accumulating at Plumpudding and therefore the isolating barrier in front of Plumpudding lagoon has not been actively managed in several years (Phil Williams, NE, pers. comm.). The height and particularly width of the shingle ridge at Plumpudding is likely to reduce the input of seawater via overtopping and percolation, leading to a high instability of the pool. This is likely resulting in a high seasonal variability of the pool extent, with a small surface area maintained during most of the year and an increase following winter storm overtopping, as suggested by the observations undertaken by NE during the last visit of the site in November 2005. The lower salinity of the pool (20PSU recorded during this visit) compared to the Coldharbour lagoon (30PSU recorded in November 2004) also suggests reduced exchanges with the sea. No lagoonal specialist species were recorded by NE during the last visit, although the estuarine generalist polychaete species Hediste (formerly Nereisdiversicolor was present, free-swimming in the water body. lagoon is also a functioning percolation lagoon. The shingle bank here is subject to erosion from the sea, with transport of the shingle eastwards, leading to the natural decrease of the width of the barrier in front of Coldharbour lagoon. As a result, the beach at Coldharbour is managed and regularly replenished with bulldozers by the Environment Agency, in order to provide protection from overtopping/breaching in storm events. There is some encroachment by Halimione portulacoides (sea purslane) on the seaward edge and fringing Phragmites australis (common reed) along the landward edge. This lagoon supports the specialist lagoonal green alga Chaetomorpha linum with an associated isopod crustacean Idotea sp. Other notable specialist lagoonal species historically found at this site are Ecrobia (formerly Hydrobia or Ventrosia) ventrosa (lagoonal mud snail) and Lekanosphaera (formerly Sphaeroma) hookeri (lagoon pill-slater). dAims and Objectives doverall aim of this project was to undertake a baseline ecological survey in order to generate the information required to allow a condition assessment to be produced. Where possible, the data were compared with existing information as obtained in previous in-house studies. The survey took into account attributes and techniques identified by Common Standards Monitoring (lagoons), with the most relevant monitoring attributes identified by Natural England. These were: d{Extent of basin, as measured using recent aerial photographs of the site and estimated in situ where feasible;Isolating barrier, based on the assessment of the nature and condition of the separating barrier formed by the shingle ridge;Salinity regime, recorded within the lagoon to describe spatial variation, including the record for adjacent source of saline water input;Biotic composition of the lagoon, with sampling of the main habitats/sub-habitats within the site and biological samples to include infaunal community, plankton, larger aquatic fauna and fauna amongst vegetation;Distribution and extent of representative/notable biotopes/habitats, through identification of areas of different habitats, wherever possible, as part of the detailed site descriptions;Species composition of representative/notable biotopes/habitats; Species population measures (may include population structure of a species and/or presence or absence of a named species); andWater depth; daddition to the above, further relevant attributes that were deemed relevant to the study site, albeit not included in the Common Standards Monitoring Guidance of lagoons, were: d{Sediment character (granulometry);inputs;with description of the main habitats (including fringing habitats) and substrata; andactivities around and on the site. dobjectives for the survey and report were outlined by Natural England and refer to the key attributes to be targeted by the survey methodology: d{i.Provide an ecological baseline for attribute condition (from which to assess future change) where a suitable baseline has not previously been set.ii.agree and implement, in collaboration with Natural England, a survey plan to collect data suitable for undertaking assessment of the direction of ecological change within the coastal lagoons, integrating and interrogating any previously obtained relevant data in the analysis.iii.agreement with Natural England implement a statistically robust survey design to enable future collection of compatible data permitting quantitative long term analysis.iv.possible, ensure that newly collected data is compatible (analytically) with historical survey data, but at the very least will make reference to and utilise such historical data.v.anthropogenic influences, potentially impacting the feature are identified and where possible, quantified allowing analysis to focus on investigation of the potential impacts of these pressures.vi.an evidence-based preliminary assessment of the condition of the SSSI feature, based on Common Standard Monitoring attributes, clearly stating how the assessment is supported by the analysis of data collected. This should note any difference in observed condition between similar communities which are subject to varying degrees of anthropogenic pressures in order to focus analysis on investigating particular impacts.vii.fully detailed methodology for the work undertaken to ensure that methods can be repeated in the future.viii.a concise, evidence based technical report detailing the work undertaken, reporting the survey and analytical findings, discussing these in the light of any previous data and providing the preliminary condition of the sub-feature. If drawing upon expert judgment in addition to data collected in this survey it must be clearly identified and presented separately from the core results of this survey work. ix.all data to the relevant standards set out by the Framework, including GI and Marine Recorder data (see details below). In order to meet these objectives, surveys were designed and conducted so that they: d{Provided baseline data for areas not previously surveyed.a statistically rigorous and repeatable programme of monitoring across the site which in future years can be repeated in order to quantify and assess community changes and inform assessments of feature condition.to collected data that are compatible (analytically) with historical survey data, or at least made reference to and utilised such historical data.techniques dThe survey was carried out in accordance with the technical specifications provided by NE, as directed by the Common Standards Monitoring and Water Framework Directive Guidance as well as the NMBAQC Scheme. Sampling sites at the lagoon margin were accessed on foot. Site description dA detailed description of each pool including submerged vegetation, surface features, notable species and habitats was recorded with the aid of laminated maps and aerial photographs, which were annotated in the field. The main habitats and substrata of the pools were described as well as the fringing habitats. mapping of lagoon boundaries was undertaken while on site with a dGPS (Magellan Professional CX accuracy), which was also used to mark spot positions along the basin and water margins (if different). morphological attributes of the site at the time of the survey were noted in order to provide a detailed description of the management of water flow between the pools. These details included level of the water, presence of bare mud and direction of flow (if any), likely direction of seawater input, presence of freshwater inflow, built structures and nature of adjacent habitats. The evidence of any areas of disturbance/relevant pressure, human activities, status of the surrounding embankments and of the ditches was also recorded.of the site and each sampling location were taken and photograph numbers recorded simultaneously with position, site number and date. The photographs were relabelled immediately upon return to the laboratory to ensure they could readily be linked to a particular site or sample.full survey log was maintained throughout the survey detailing time of sampling, position (dGPS derived), station and station number (replicate), water depth, physical characteristics of the sample, texture and presence of surface features, RPD layer (cm), digital image number and/or time (cross referencing (QA)), climatic conditions and any other notable features. Benthic invertebratesFour stations were sampled for benthic invertebrates in the lagoons (Table 1). A standard size corer (11 cm internal diameter, 0.01m2 area) was used to take core samples, with five replicates collected per station to achieve a total sampled area of 0.05m2. Core samples were taken to a depth of 10 cm in the sediment. All infaunal samples were sieved on site in close proximity to the sample location, therefore ensuring any specimens passing through the sieve were returned to the original collection site. The replicate samples were sieved separately through a 0.5mm mesh and sieve residue preserved in stained 10% formalin (4% formaldehyde) solution. samples remained in storage at IECS for analysis (species identification and abundance), and three replicates per sample were processed at IECS laboratory, as required by NE. Nekton and large zooplanktonMarginal stations (three stations) were sampled semi-quantitatively for conspicuous nekton and larger zooplankton fauna in the lagoons. A 0.25m wide push net (mesh size 250was used to collect conspicuous plankton (metazooplankton) and nekton samples within each lagoon. The net was swept through the main body of the lagoon and amongst vegetation (where present) at each station, with 3 replicate sweeps taken and a total swept area of 3.75m2 at each station. This method allowed the characterisation of planktonic and nektonic fauna, particularly on substrata unsuitable for coring (e.g., cobbles). Samples were taken and preserved in stained buffered formalin (4% formaldehyde) solution until identification was carried out at IECS laboratory. Algal cover and associated epifaunaAt stations where aquatic vegetation was present and where survey conditions allowed (vegetation along the lagoon margin), a 1m2 quadrat was used to assess the submerged vegetation coverage (including macroalgae) at the site. Vegetation was identified and percentage coverage in the quadrat recorded, along with an overall visual assessment. Three replicate quadrats were surveyed at each station.epifauna associated with the submerged vegetation was assessed by collecting 3 replicate samples at stations where conspicuous vegetation was present. A fixed volume (0.5L) of algae was washed gently on a 0.5mm sieve and the sieve residue preserved in 10% formalin (4% formaldehyde) solution for identification in the IECS laboratory. When possible, identification was carried out on site, and some specimens for ID confirmation were kept; however, in some cases, numerous very small organisms were present that could not be identified in situ and the whole sample was kept for identification and enumeration. In addition to the three stations where quadrat sampling was undertaken, epifauna was collected also at two stations where submerged vegetation was observed in shallow waters (where quadrat sampling was not possible). Physical and chemical factors dDepth, vertical profile of salinity, water temperature, dissolved oxygen and turbidity was measured by using a Hydrolab Quanta Water Quality Monitoring System (Salinity accuracy +/- 1% of reading +/- 1 count, Resolution 0.01 PSS) along the lagoon margins and at additional stations distributed in the lagoon. Vertical profiles were taken also in the deeper part of the Easington South lagoon (in the central area of the old borrow-pit to the south of the lagoon, with maximum depth of 2-3m) and in the North lagoon N2, in order to characterise the water column stratification. each of the stations where infaunal coring was undertaken, one additional sediment sample was collected using the same sampling technique for Particle Size Analysis (PSA). These samples were stored at cool temperature in the IECS laboratory before being sent to the National Laboratory Service (NLS) for processing. "
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