
Bringing reedbeds to life
The RSPB is bringing reedbeds to life across the UK - every buzzing, crawling, slithering, fluttering part of them.

Objectives
- Increase understanding of the habitat and management requirements of a range of reedbed wildlife, via a programme of wildlife research and survey work on the five key project reedbed sites.
- Increase our understanding of the factors influencing bittern nesting events at five key reedbed sites, via a programme of research and survey work.
- Provide site specific, habitat management advice to reedbed managers via a programme of practical reedbed habitat audit site visits across an additional 20 reedbed sites.
- Develop new and updated habitat management advice and technical guidance to reedbed managers based upon results.
- Bring together reedbed managers and others to share best practice and explore new techniques for reedbed management, via technical workshops, training courses and conferences.
Progress
- Workshops held in 2011.
- Training courses run in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Planned Work
Results
- The older drier parts of the reedbed contained higher overall invertebrate diversity and many invertebrates with conservation statuses.
- We found that early successional reedbed is important for reedbed and wetland specialist invertebrates.
- Seasonally flooded pools were important for common frogs and well-vegetated ditches were important for smooth newts.
- The results show having a variety of ditches and open water bodies is important for aquatic invertebrates and macrophytes.
- The data support previous findings that reedbeds are important refuges for water voles from mink predation. Water vole and mink were found to be coexisting at all five sites.
- Reedbeds are dynamic ecosystems and temporal and spatial variation in habitats is key to maintaining high diversity of flora and fauna. Management which maintains a range of successional stages will maximise conservation and biodiversity.
Partners
- Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust Far Ings
- Nolfolk Wildlife Trust Hickling Broad
- National Trust Wicken Fen
- Natural England Stodmarsh
- RSPB Ham Wall
- The large number of survey volunteers for help and assistance with the wildlife survey programme.
Funding
- This project is supported by Natural England, via the Countdown 2010 Biodiversity Action Fund.
Download
Creating and managing reedbeds for wildlife. Date: 19 November 2014. PDF, 2.33Mb
Bringing Reedbeds to LifeDate: 28 March 2011 .PDF, 257Kb
Bringing Reedbeds to Life - Executive SummaryDate: 28 March 2011. PDF, 709Kb
Chapters 1 and 2: Introduction and Environmental gradients in reedbedsDate: 28 March 2011. PDF, 495Kb
Chapter 3: Overview of invertebrate resultsDate: 28 March 2011. PDF, 1.51Mb
Chapter 4: Water trap surveysDate: 28 March 2011. PDF, 1.41Mb
Chapter 5: Pitfall trap surveysDate: 28 March 2011. PDF, 1.42Mb
Chapter 6: Light trap surveys for mothsDate: 28 March 2011. PDF, 1.96Mb
Chapter 7: Aquatic invertebratesDate: 28 March 2011. PDF. 764Kb
Chapter 8: Aquatic plantsDate: 28 March 2011. PDF, 764Kb
Chapter 9: AmphibiansDate: 28 March 2011. PDF, 1.56Mb
Chapter 10: Water volesDate: 28 March 2011. PDF, 154Kb
Chapter 11: ConclusionDate: 7 October 2009. PDF, 287Kb
Reedbed management posterDate: 8 April 2009. PDF, 313Kb
Bringing reedbeds to lifeContacts
