He said getting the habitat right for "flagship" species such as the
fen orchid would have benefits across nature.
Fen orchids were once found in eight dune sites in south Wales, but neglect meant the dunes became overgrown, with the bare sand disappearing under vegetation which suffocated the orchid.
The Water Works project on the Great
Fen aims to tackle these problems and is being run by BCN Wildlife Trust in partnership with Cambridgeshire ACRE, the University of East London and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.
When the conversion to agriculture began, a sabotage group called the
Fen Tigers tore down dams and blocked drains in an attempt to preserve their way of life.
PICTURE: TERRY WHITTAKER/2020VISION | Water voles are resident in the
fensCAMERA FLY A TV crew interviewed us during a trip to the
Fens8 Pass a tower hide on the left, overlooking the Mere and Adventurer's
Fen. Look out for marsh harriers.
Estimates of [f.sub.gw] for bogs (0.03-0.05),
fens (0.24-0.93), and swamps (0.64-0.93) were consistent with conceptual models of the bog to
fen gradient (i.e., precipitation-dominated to more groundwater-dominated), and of swamps, which are thought to be intermediate to strongly groundwater-dominated (Zoltai and Vitt, 1995; Winter el al, 2001; Euliss et al., 2004).
Ms Entwistle said: "
Fen raft spiders have become isolated to just a few pockets of habitat in England and their numbers have declined to preciously low levels.
Rich
fens have been used for haymaking and cattle grazing in Western Europe for a long time.
Meetings will be held: For Owton Manor at Manor Residents' Association, Kilmarnock Road on Wednesday, January 20 at 2.30- 3.30pm, for Rossmere at the Surestart Building on Jutland Road, Thursday, January 21, 2pm-3pm, for
Fens at McColls Shop,
Fens Shopping Parade on Friday January 22, 11am-noon, for Greatham at McKies Shop, Front Street on Tuesday, January 26, 2-3pm and for Seaton at Spar Stores, Elizabeth Way Shopping Precinct on Thursday, January 21, 2-3pm.
The Wet
Fens Project in partnership with Dorset Wildlife Trust and the Freshwater Biological Association is pioneer work in the UK, to link research with conservation practice with the aim of incorporating small organisms into wetland conservation management.