Malltraeth (Wetland Field Trip 3)

Cors Erddreiniog and NEARL The Migneint. (Wetland Field trip 1)

      

    Cors Erddreiniog and The Migneint - 20th October 2014

 

Field trip one.........complete! And what a lovely field trip it was indeed. Armed with the latest hi-tech scientific equipment and dressed to survive, we waged war against the fens and bogs of North West Wales. Well, that's if a PH metre, a thermometer, a quadrat and a ruler constitute hi-tech scientific equipment and if a pair of plastic kecks and a jacket constitute survival gear! 
I like to think they do!

  

 What was the aim of the trip?

A number of objectives were set out for this, our first wetland based field trip of the course. They are as followed.

• To get an initial taste of two different wetland types and their properties and wildlife richness and

• To get our first "official" hands on experience in the field and in two wetland types-bog and fen

• To get to grips with using equipment and to learn skills invaluable for use in the field
  
  • Quadrates for comparison of biodiversity in and between sites
  • pH measurements using electronic metre
  • conductivity using electronic metre
  • Collecting of samples from different sites for use in lab experiments

Where did we go?

 

Cors Erddreiniog

Cors Erddreiniog is a lime-based (calcareous) fen located in the east of Ynys Mon (the Isle of Anglesey) just to the east of the village of Capel Coch.

                                              The Fens at Cors Erddreiniog. (NRW website)

Forming part of the larger Cors Erddreiniog National Nature Reserve, spanning 289 hectares, the area boasts a number of official designations  at the regional, national and international level:-               

• Site of special scientific Interest (SSSI)

• Special Area of conservation (SAC)

• Wetland of International Importance (Ramsar Convention)

•  National Nature Reserve 

 

                                  Map of eastern Anglesey with "Cors Erddreiniog National Nature Reserve" marked 
                                                                Map taken from the Natural Resources Wales (NRW) website
                                            

Management

 Managed by Natural Resources Wales (NRW), the fen system undergoes a number of management practices that mimic old practices of land use, to stop the encroachment of trees throughout the fen and to restore areas of land back to more "nature" states. Such management are:-

• Grazing- Light grazing by a small number of Welsh mountain ponies and Cattle to control the growth of certain plants and to stop over domination of any one species. It is believed that the action of the hooves on the group, too, allows to soften the ground and reduce it becoming compacted.

• Tree removal and scrub control- Both native and non-native tree species are removed from the fen area to stop their encroachment onto the fen, which could cause a shift in the species composition, such as by altering the hydrology of the land.

•  Peat cutting- due to evidence of small scale peat cutting practices in the past, small peat scrapings are carried out in select areas so as to boost biodiversity.
  
  

• Reed bed cutting- Whilst once cut and left on top of the reed beds, reeds are now cut and the cut material is removed so as not to cause un-natural nutrient levels within the reed beds.

Characterising Flora:-

The fen is characterised by the following species:-

• Common Reed (Phragmites australis autralis)

• Great fen sedge (Cladium mariscus)

• Blunt flowered rush (Juncus subnodulosus)

• Black bog rush (Schoenus nigricans)

For a more in depth view of biodiversity and management of Cors Erddreiniog please click here.

*Please not that at the bottom of the above mentioned web page there are a number of pdf files offering a more detail.

Unspecified Bog Site

Due to road closure our initial trip to "The Migneint" bog was cancelled and, instead, we went to another bog on the North West side of Snowdonia national park.

In Field Findings

Here are the readings for the different tests carried out in the field with a table showing the percentage plant cover in each quadrat in the two sites.

 

 

 Cors Erddreiniog

soil pH-4.2

Air Temperature- 15.7oC

Soil Temperature-

Peat Depth-30cm

conductivity-


                                                                                                                                                                                                    Example of Quadrat from Cor Erddreiniog         

Quadrats     

Percentage cover of each species/family within each quadrat within Cors Erddreiniog

Species	Cors Erddreiniog (Coverage by %)
	Quadrat 1	Quadrat 2	Quadrat 3	Quadrat 4	Quadrat 5
Juncus	45	55	40	25	10
Sedge (Carex)	45	40	50	45	90
Musk Thistle (Carduus nutans)			10
Dicot species	5
Herb species		3
Bare ground	5	2		30
Total	100	100	100	100	100

  

Bog Site

soil pH-5.2

Air Temperature- 11.5oC

Soil Temperature-11.2oC

Peat Depth-25-30cm

conductivity-

 

  Quadrat

Quadrats readings 1-3 were taken at a maximum of 20 metres from the bog verge and thus may explain why there is a low percentage cover of Sphagnum species than expected.

Species	Bog Site (Coverage by %)
	Quadrat 1	Quadrat 2	Quadrat 3	Quadrat 4	Quadrat 5
Sphagnum	20		30	50	70
Billberry (Vaccinium uliginosum)	40
Purple moor grass (Molinia caerulea)		65	30	25	10
Juncus		10
Carex		20
Sedge			25	25
Heather	40	5	20		20
Total	100	100	100	100	100