Fen Management Handbook - Scottish Natural Heritage

10. Monitoring to inform fen management
Fens change continuously as a result of external pressures
such as drought and groundwater abstraction and due to the
natural process of succession. Monitoring is essential to identify
changes and their cause, which will inform how management
may need to be adapted in future to maintain or restore specific
features or species. This section explains the benefits of
monitoring, outlines different monitoring techniques which can be
used to measure a particular environmental variable or biological
feature, and offers advice on design and implementation of a
monitoring strategy. It also includes advice on data management,
and suggests other sources of useful information about
monitoring. Guidance on monitoring visitor numbers is included
in Section 11: Fens and People.
10.1 Why monitor?
Monitoring can be used to:
– Establish baseline data which describes the existing condition of the ecology,
hydrology, climatology and geomorphology of a site, against which changes in
condition of the fen or its environment can be gauged. Baseline data is also
important in setting targets for future management.
– Develop an integrated understanding of the ecological, hydrological and
climatological functioning of a site i.e. exactly how individual fens work, including
both internal and external influences. This will initially utilise the baseline
data and will then be refined with each stage of interpreted monitoring data.
Diagrammatic or schematic linking of all the major ecological and environmental
processes affecting a fen is fundamental to planning effective management
and monitoring, by identifying gaps in understanding and allowing reduction in
monitoring frequency where further confidence is not required. For example, a
change from MG10 rush pasture to M22 fen meadow may be desirable, but if
the fen meadow has only developed after a few years with above average rainfall,
progress to fen habitat may require manipulation of drainage systems.
– Gather information to improve understanding of a fen and help develop
objectives for future management. Necessary information will include the type
of habitat and environmental conditions across the site, to support decisions on
types of habitat that could be aimed for.
– Inform the management strategy for a site over time. For example, in
the short-term, water level monitoring data can be used to determine control
of a water level management structure, such as a sluice. Over the longerterm,
vegetation monitoring data can be used to determine whether habitat
management activities are proving effective in maintaining or restoring desirable
features, species or condition of the fen, and will also help inform how
management might need to be changed in future.
– Measure the environmental parameters (such as nutrients and water
levels) associated with examples of different types of fen to establish a
reference or threshold against which deviations from optimal conditions can
be measured or compared, which will help identify what management may be
required on individual fens. An example is understanding the contribution of runoff
from surrounding fields as part of an assessment of the impact of agricultural
discharge on water quality, and subsequent implications for the fen ecology.
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