Organic carbon in British lowland ponds: estimating sediment stocks, possible practical benefits and significant unknowns

Abnizova, A., J. Siemens, M. Langer & J. Boike, 2012. Small ponds with major impact: the relevance of ponds and lakes in permafrost landscapes to carbon dioxide emissions. Global Biogeochemcial Cycles. https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GB004237. Allende, L. & G. Mataloni, 2013. Short-term analysis of the phytoplankton structure and dynamics in two ponds with distinct trophic states from Cierva Point (maritime Antarctica). Polar Biology 36: 629–644. Avila, A. C., C. Stenert, E. N. L. Rodrigues & L. Maltchik, 2017. Habitat structure determines spider diversity in highland ponds. Ecological Research 32: 359–367. Bastien, N. R. P., S. Arthur & M. J. McLoughlin, 2012. Valuing amenity: public perceptions of sustainable drainage systems ponds. Water and Environment Journal 26: 19–29. Berg, M. D., S. C. Popescu, B. P. Wilcox, J. P. Angerer, E. C. Rhodes, J. McAlister & W. E. Fox, 2016. Small farm ponds: overlooked features with important impacts on watershed sediment transport. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 52: 67–76. Biggs, J., A. Corfield, D. Walker, P. Whitfield & P. Williams, 1994. New approaches to the Management of ponds. British Wildlife 5: 273–287. Biggs, J., S. von Fumetti & M. Kelly-Quinn, 2017. The importance of small water bodies for biodiversity and ecosystems services: implications for policy makers. Hydrobiologia 793: 3–39. Bilton, D. T., L. C. McAbendroth, P. Nicolet, A. Bedford, S. D. Rundle, A. Foggo & P. M. Ramsay, 2009. Ecology and conservation status of temporary and fluctuating ponds in two areas of southern England. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 19: 134–146. Burke, S. A., M. Wik, A. Lang, A. R. Contosta, M. Place, P. M. Crill & R. K. Varner, 2019. Long-term measurements of methane ebullition from thaw ponds. JGR Biogeosciences 124: 2208–2221. Calhoun, A. J. K., D. M. Mushet, K. P. Bell, D. Boix, J. A. Fitzsimons & F. Isselin-Nondedeu, 2017. Temporary wetlands: challenges and solutions to conserving a ‘disappearing’ ecosystem. Biological Conservation 211: 3–11. Céréghino, R., J. Biggs, B. Oertli & S. Declerck, 2008. The ecology of European ponds: defining the characteristics of neglected freshwater habitat. Hydrobiologia 597: 1–6. Céréghino, R., D. Boix, H.-M. Cauchie, K. Martens & B. Oertli, 2014. The ecological role of ponds a changing world. Hydrobiologia 723: 1–6. Clay, P., 2015. The origin of relic cryogenic mounds at East Walton and Thompson Common, Norfolk, England. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association 126: 522–535. Cole, J. J., Y. T. Prairie, N. F. Caraco, W. H. McDowell, L. J. Travnik, R. G. Streigl, C. M. Duarte, P. Kortelainen, J. A. Downing, J. J. Middelburg & J. Melack, 2007. Plumbing the global carbon cycle: integrating inland waters into the terrestrial carbon budget. Ecosystems 10: 171–184. Davies, B. R., J. Biggs, P. Williams, M. Whitfield, P. Nicolet, D. Sear, S. Bray & S. Maund, 2008. Comparative biodiversity of aquatic habitats in the European agricultural landscape. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 125: 1–8. DeClerck, S., T. De Bie, D. Ercken, H. Hampel, S. Schrijvers, J. Van Wichelen, V. Gillard, R. Mandiki, B. Loson, D. Bauwens, S. Keijers, W. Vyerman, B. Goddereris, L. De meester, L. Brendonck & K. Martens, 2006. Ecological characteristics of small farm ponds: associations with land use practices at multiple spatial scales. Biological Conservation 131: 523–532. Downing, J. A., 2010. Emerging global role of small lakes and ponds: little things mean a lot. Limnetica 29: 9–24. Downing, J. A., J. J. Cole, J. J. Middleburg, R. G. Striegl, C. M. Duarte, P. Kotelainene, Y. T. Praire & K. A. Laaube, 2008. Sediment organic carbon burial in agriculturally eutrophic impoundments over the last century. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 22: 1–10. Epele, L. B., M. G. Grech, E. A. Williams-Subiza, C. Stenert, K. McLean, H. S. Greig, L. Maltchik, M. M. Pires, M. S. Birds, A. Boissezon, D. Boix, E. Demiere, P. E. García, S. Gascón, M. J. Jeffries, J. M. Kneitel, O. Loskutova, L. M. Manzo, G. Mataloni, M. C. Mlambo, B. Oertli, J. Sala, E. E. Scheibler, H. Wu, S. A. Wissinger & B. P. Batzer, 2022. Perils of life on the edge: climatic threats to global diversity patterns of wetland macroinvertebrates. Science of the Total Environment 820: 1–10. Fitter, A. H., J. Browne, T. Dixon & J. J. Tucker, 1980. Ecological studies at Askham Bog Nature Reserve. 1. Inter-relations of vegetation and environment. Naturalist 105: 89–101. Foster, G., 1993. Pingo fens, water beetles and site evaluation. Antenna 17: 184–195. Frajer, J. & D. Fiedor, 2018. Discovering extinct water bodies in the landscape of Central Europe using toponymic GIS. Moravian Geographical Reports 26: 121–134. Gilbert, P. J., D. A. Cooke, M. E. Deary, S. Taylor & M. J. Jeffries, 2016. Quantifying rapid spatial and temporal variations of CO2 fluxes from small, lowland freshwater ponds. Hydrobiologia 793: 83–93. Gilbert, P. J., S. Taylor, D. A. Cooke, M. E. Deary & M. J. Jeffries, 2021. Quantifying organic carbon storage in temperate pond sediments. Journal of Environmental Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111698. Gregg, R., J. L. Elias, I. Alonso, I.E. Crosher, P. Muto & M.D. Morecroft, 2021. Carbon storage and sequestration by habitat: a review of the evidence (second edition) Natural England Research Report NERR094. Natural England, York. Grinham, A., S. Albert, N. Deering, M. Dunbabin, D. Bastviken, B. Sherman, C. E. Lovelock & C. D. Evans, 2018. The importance of small artificial water bodies as sources of methane emissions in Queensland, Australia. Hydrology and Earth Systems Sciences 22: 5281–5298. Hallett, T., T. Coulson, J. Pilkington, T. Clutton-Brock, J. Pemberton & B. Grenfell, 2004. Why large-scale climate indices EEM to predict ecological processes better than local weather. Nature 430: 71–75. Heckenberger, M. J., J. C. Russell, J. R. Toney & M. J. Schmidt, 2007. The legacy of cultural landscapes in the Brazilian Amazon: implications for biodiversity. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 362: 197–208. Higgins, S. L., F. Thomas, B. Goldsmith, S. J. Brooks, C. Hassall, J. Harlow, D. Stone, S. Völker & P. White, 2019. Urban freshwaters, biodiversity, and human health and well-being: Setting an interdisciplinary research agenda. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water. https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1339. Hill, M. J., D. B. Ryves, J. C. White & P. J. Wood, 2016. Macroinvertebrate diversity in urban and rural ponds: implications for freshwater biodiversity conservation. Biological Conservation 201: 50–59. Hill, M. J., C. Hassall, B. Oertli, L. Fahrig, B. J. Robson, J. Biggs, M. J. Samways, N. Usio, N. Takamura, J. Krishnaswamy & P. J. Wood, 2017. New policy directions for global pond conservation. Conservation Letters. https://doi.org/10.1111/coml.12447. Hill, M. J., H. M. Greaves, C. D. Sayer, C. Hassall, M. Milin, V. S. Milner, L. Marazzi, R. Hall, L. R. Harper, I. Thornhill, R. Walton, J. Biggs, N. Ewald, A. Law, N. Willby, J. C. White, R. A. Briers, M. J. Mathers, M. J. Jeffries & P. J. Wood, 2021. Pond ecology and conservation: research priorities and knowledge gaps. Ecosphere 12: e03853. Hinden, H., B. Oertli, N. Menetrey, L. Sager & J.-B. Lachavanne, 2005. Alpine pond biodiversity: what are the related environmental variables? Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 15: 613–624. Holgerson, M. A. & P. A. Raymond, 2016. Large contribution to inland waters CO2 and CH4 emissions from very small ponds. Nature Geosciences. https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2654. Hunter, M. L., V. Acuña, D. M. Bauer, K. P. Bell, A. J. K. Calhoun, M. R. Felipe-Lucia, J. A. Fitzsimmons, E. González, M. Kinnison, D. Lindemayer, C. J. Lundquist, R. A. Medellin, E. J. Nelson & P. Psoschold, 2016. Conserving small natural features with large ecological roles: a synthetic overview. Biological Conservation 211: 88–95. Huq, N., 2017. Small scale freshwater ponds in rural Bangladesh: navigating roles and services. Indian Journal of Water 11: 73–85. Jeffries, M. J., 2012. Ponds and the importance of their history: an audit of pond numbers, turnover and the relationship between the origins of ponds and their contemporary plant communities in south east Northumberland, UK. Hydrobiologia 689: 11–12. Jeffries, M. J., 2016. Flood, drought and the inter annual variation to the number and size of ponds and small wetlands in an English lowland landscape over three years of weather extremes. Hydrobiologia 768: 255–272. Jeffries, M.J., L. Epele, J.M. Studinski & C.F. Vad, 2016. Invertebrates in temporary wetland ponds of the temperate biomes. In Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands. An International Perspective on Their Ecology. Switzerland: Springer. Kifner, L. H., A. J. K. Calhoun, S. A. Norton, K. E. Hoffmann & A. Amirbahman, 2018. Methane and carbon dioxide dynamics within four vernal pools in Maine, USE. Biogeochemistry 139: 275–291. Kuhn, M. K., E. J. Lundin, R. Giesler & M. Johansson, 2018. Emissions from thaw ponds largely offset the carbon sink of northern permafrost wetlands. Nature Scientific Reports 8: 9535. Lewis-Phillps, J., S. J. Brooks, C. D. Sater, I. R. Patmore, G. M. Hilton, A. Harrison & H. Robson, 2020. Ponds as insect chimneys: restoring overgrown farm ponds benefits birds through elevated productivity of emerging insects. Biological Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108253. Manoj, K. & P. K. Padhy, 2015. Environmental perspectives of pond ecosystems: global issues, services ad Indian scenarios. Current World Environment. https://doi.org/10.12944/CWE.10.3.16. Marcé, R., B. Obrador, L. Gomez-Gener, N. Catalán, M. Koschorreck, M. I. Arce, G. Singer & D. von Schiller, 2019. Emissions from dry land waters are a blind spot in the global carbon cycle. Earth-Science Reviews 188: 240–248. Martínez-Sanz, C., C. S. S. Canzano, M. Fernández-Aláez & F. García-Criado, 2012. Relative contribution of small mountain ponds to regional richness of littoral macroinvertebrates and the implications for conservation. Aquatic Conservation 22: 155–164. McClain, M. E., E. W. Boyer, C. L. Dent, S. E. Gergel, N. B. Grimm, P. M. Groffman, S. C. Hart, J. W. Harvey, C. A. Johnston, E. Mayorga, W. H. McDowell & G. Pinay, 2003. Biogeochemical hot spots and hot moments at the interface of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Ecosystems 3: 301–312. Mo, Y., Z.-H. Deng, J.-Q. Gao, Y.-X. Guo & F.-H. Yu, 2015. Does richness of emergent plants affect CO2 and CH4 emissions in experimental wetlands? Freshwater Biology 60: 1537–1544. Natural England, n.d. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-character-area-profiles-data-for-local-decision-making/national-character-area-profiles. Nicolet, P., J. Biggs, G. Fox, M. J. Hodson, C. Reynolds, M. Whitfield & P. Williams, 2004. The wetland plant and macroinvertebrate assemblages of temporary ponds in England and Wales. Biological Conservation 120: 261–278. Obrador, B., D. von Schiller, R. Marcé, L. Gómez-Gener, M. Koschorreck & C. Borrego, 2018. Dry habitats sustain high CO2 emissions from temporary ponds across seasons. Nature Scientific Reports 8: 3105. Oertli, B., 2018. Freshwater biodiversity conservation: the role of artificial ponds in the 21st century. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystem 28: 264–269. Oertli, B., R. Céréghino, A. Hull & R. Miracle, 2009. Pond conservation: from science to practice. Hydrobiologia 634: 1–9. Ortega, S. H., C. R. González-Quijano, P. Casper, G. A. Singer & M. O. Gessner, 2019. Methane emissions from contrasting urban freshwaters: rate, drivers, and a whole-city footprint. Global Change Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14799. Peacock, M., J. Audet, S. Jordan, J. Smeds & M. B. Wallin, 2019. Greenhouse gas emissions from urban ponds are driven by nutrient status and hydrology. Ecosphere 10: 1–10. Peacock, M., J. Audet, D. Bastviken, S. Cook, C. D. Evans, A. Grinham, M. A. Holgerson, L. Högbom, A. E. Pickard & P. Zieliński, 2021. Small artificial waterbodies are widespread and persistent emitters of methane and carbon dioxide. Global Change Biology: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15762. Pitt, A. L., R. F. Baldwin, D. J. Lipscomb, B. L. Brown, J. E. Hawley, C. M. Allard-Keese & P. B. Leonard, 2012. The missing wetlands: using local knowledge to find cryptic ecosystems. Biodiversity and Conservation 21: 51–63. Polishchuk, Y. M., A. N. Bogdanov, I. N. Muratov, V. Y. Polishchuk, A. Lim, R. M. Manasypov, L. S. Shirokova & O. S. Pokrovsky, 2018. Minor contribution of small thaw ponds to the pools of carbon and methane in the inland waters of the perma-frost-affected part of the Western Siberian Lowland. Environmental Research Letters 13: 045002. Poudel, J. M., 2018. Pond becomes as lake: challenges posed by climate change in the Trans-Himalayan regions of Nepal. Journal of Forest and Livelihood 16: 87–102. Reverey, F., H.-P. Grossart, K. Premke & G. Lischeid, 2016. Carbon and nutrient cycling in kettle hole sediments depending on hydrological dynamics; a review. Hydrobiologia 775: 1–20. Rewilding Britain, 2021. Rewilding and Climate Breakdown. How Restoring Nature can help Decarbonise the UK, Rewilding Britain, Leeds: Riley, W. D., E. C. E. Potter, J. Biggs, A. L. Collins, H. P. Jarvie, J. I. Jones, M. Kelly-Quin, S. J. Ormerod, D. A. Sear, R. L. Wilby, S. Broademadow, C. D. Brown, P. Chanin, G. H. Copp, I. G. Cowx, A. Grogan, D. D. Hornby, D. Huggett, M. G. Kelly, M. Naura, J. R. Newman & G. M. Siriwardena, 2018. Small water bodies in Great Britain and Ireland: ecosystem function, human-generated degradation, and options for restorative action. Science of the Total Environment 645: 1598–1616. Rosentreter, J. A., A. V. Borges, B. R. Deemer, M. A. Holgerson, S. Liu, C. Song, J. Melack, P. A. Raymond, C. M. Duarte, G. H. Allen, D. Olefeldt, B. Poulter, T. I. Battin & B. D. Eyre, 2021. Half of global methane emissions come from highly variable aquatic ecosystem sources. Nature Geogscience 14: 225–230. Scott, A., I. M. D. Maclean, A. Byfield, A. R. Pay & R. J. Wilson, 2012. Artificial disturbance promotes recovery of rare Mediterranean temporary pond plant species on the Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall, England. Conservation Evidence 9: 76–86. Seekell, D. A. & M. L. Pace, 2011. Does the Pareto distribution adequately describe the size-distribution of lakes? Limnology and Oceanography 56: 350–356. Seekell, D. A., M. L. Pace, J. L. Tranvik & C. Verpoorter, 2013. A fractal-based approach to lake size distribution. Geophysical Research Letters 40: 517–521. Søndergard, M., E. Jeppesen & J. P. Jensen, 2005. Pond or lake: does it make any difference? Archive Für Hydrobiologie 162: 143–165. Stafford, R., B. Chamberlain, L. Clavey, P.K. Gillingham, S., McKain, M.D. Morecroft, C. Morrison-Bell & O. Watts, (Eds.), 2021. Nature-based solutions for climate change in the UK: a report by the British Ecological Society, London. Sun, H., Q. Xin, Z. Ma & S. Lan, 2019. effects of plant diversity on carbon dioxide emissions and carbon removal in laboratory scale constructed wetland. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 26: 5076–5082. Taylor, S., P. J. Gilbert, D. A. Cooke, M. E. Deary & M. J. Jeffries, 2019. High carbon burial rates by small ponds in the landscape. Frontiers of Ecology and Environment 17: 25–31. Torgersen, T. & B. Branco, 2008. Carbon and oxygen fluxes from a small pond to the atmosphere: temporoal variability and the CO2/O2 imbalance. Water Resources Research. https://doi.org/10.12944/CWE.10.3.16. Travnik, L. J., J. J. Cole & Y. T. Prairie, 2018. The study of carbon in inland waters – from isolated ecosystems to players in the global carbon cycle. Limnology and Oceanography Letter 3: 41–48. Tsai, J.-S., L. S. Venne, S. T. McMurry & L. M. Smith, 2011. Local and landscape influences on plant communities in playa wetlands. Journal of Applied Ecology 49: 174–181. Usio, N., M. Nakagawa, T. Aoki, S. Higuchi, Y. Kadono, Y. M. Akasaka & N. Takamura, 2017. Effects of land use on trophic states and multi-taxonomic diversity in Japanese farm ponds. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 247: 205–215. Van Bergen, T. J. H. M., N. Barros, R. Mendonça, R. C. H. Aben, L. H. J. Althuizen, V. Huszar, L. P. M. Lamers, M. Lurling, F. Roland & K. Kosten, 2019. Seasonal and diel variation in greenhouse gas emissions from an urban pond and its major drivers. Limnology and Oceanography 64: 2129–2139. Vickruck, J. L., L. R. Best, M. P. Gavin, J. H. Devries & P. Galpern, 2019. Pothole wetlands provide reservoir habitat for native bees in prairie croplands. Biological Conservation 232: 43–50. Walmsley, A., 2008. The Norfolk ‘Pingo’ Mapping Project, Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Norwich: Wik, M., R. K. Varner, K. W. Anthony, S. MacIntyre & D. Bastviken, 2016. Climate-sensitive northern lakes and ponds are critical components of methane release. Nature Geoscience 9: 99–105. Williams, P., J. Biggs, A. Crowe, J. Murphy, P. Nicolet, A. Weatherby, M. Dunbar, 2010. Countryside Survey: Ponds Report from 2007. Technical Report No. 7/07 Pond Conservation and NERC/Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster. Yvon-Durocher, G., C. J. Hulatt, G. Woodward & M. Trimmer, 2017. Long-term warming amplifies shifts in the carbon cycle of experimental ponds. Nature Climate Change. https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE3229.