Saline lagoon Manual - review

"Saline lagoons are a scarce habitat in the UK, and until now information on their management and creation has been difficult to find. A new guidance manual written by and issued on behalf of the UK Saline Lagoon Working Group seeks to fill that gap (see contents list).

This is the first time that there has been a guide dedicated to lagoons. It brings into accessible form information held in research papers and contracted reports for use by those responsible for making decisions about the management and creation of lagoons. The emphasis is upon identifying what is important about a lagoon and setting the right priorities for management. There are not the how-to-do-it sections that are included in guidance manuals for some other habitats. The guide makes it possible to identify the conditions needed to achieve one or several of a wide breadth of management objectives, from improving the salinity conditions in an existing lagoon for the Starlet Sea Anemone Nernatostella vectensis to creating a lagoon for nesting birds.

The case studies in the guide include examples of both appropriate and inappropriate action taken to manage particular lagoons. The guide is described as interim, and it is proposed to produce an updated edition in two to three years based upon management information gathered as part of an EU LIFE Nature funded project (Conserving saline lagoons) and through feedback from the readers of the guidance document." Taken from British Wildlife (Buisson 2001).

Saline lagoon guide: A guide to their management and creation by Roger Bamber, Paul Gilliland and Matt Shardlow (ISBN 1 85716 573 X) is available free of charge from the English Nature Inquiry Service on 01733 455101, or download from English Nature's Web site in pdf format @ http://www.english-nature.org.uk/. search under Publications.

References

Buisson, R. 2001. Habitat management news - Managing and creating saline lagoons. British Wildlife, 13/1., 42.