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Restoring drying reedbeds - excavation
Excavating (reedbed-lowering) can achieve more rapid and effective restoration
of drying reedbeds than more traditional methods (e.g. cutting, burning and
mowing). Though this can be expensive, with the correct machinery it is not
difficult.
At Minsmere
a relatively large scale restoration has taken place involving the 'lowering'
of nearly 50ha of reedbed. The profile of the excavated area allowed for a bund
(made of excavated material) and a sequence of ditches (1.5 - 2.0m deep), submerged
berms (2 - 4m wide) and reinstated pools (2 - 3m deep).These dimensions were
specifically tailored to the habitat requirement of breeding
bitterns (Smith et al. 2000),
but also provide a good indication of the type of landform required to create
of restore reedbed.
| Guidance: Excavation of 25-30 cms of the top layers of drying reedbeds
can set back the succession for several years. The work is more easily carried
out in late summer. Deeper excavations, to create open water are also valuable
as they can take decades to become infilled again. |
References
Smith, K., Welch, G., Tyler, G., Gilbert, G., Hawkins, I. & Hirons, G.
2000.
Management of RSPB Minsmere reserve reedbeds and its impact on breeding bitterns.
British Wildlife, 12/1., 16-21.
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