Ecological surveys of recently restored dew ponds in South Downs National Park show a resurgence of wildlife biodiversity after restoration, BBC reported.
Dew ponds are ancient man-made ponds excavated and built at the tops of hills in regions where natural water sources are scarce. Layered with insulating and waterproof materials such as straw and clay, these ponds capture rainwater, as well as condensation from mist, to water livestock. Dew ponds are also important habitats and water sources for insects, birds, and other wildlife.
Dew ponds were quite common in the Sussex landscape, according to BBC, due to the dry and chalky soil found throughout the region. According to South Downs National Park Trust, as many as 1,000 dew ponds were scattered across the South Downs landscape — a number that has since fallen as farming practices changed.
Instead of waiting to collect water, farms could have water directly piped to them, making dew ponds largely redundant. As a result, many of the dew ponds had fallen into states of disrepair, making water conservation more difficult, while hotter and dryer weather patterns kept them dry and empty.
According to the BBC report, 70% of all of the dew ponds across the South Downs landscape are either in poor condition or have disappeared.
The Pounds for Ponds initiative is a fundraising campaign started in 2023 to help restore more than 100 ponds across Hampshire and Sussex, where the South Downs National Park lies.
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So far, the South Downs National Park has been working at restoring 10 of these ponds, and ecological surveys show that these efforts have not been in vain.
The blue-tailed damselfly, for example, a near-threatened species in Britain, was spotted in one of the recently restored dew ponds, per BBC. Other wildlife spotted in the restored ponds include diving beetles, water boatmen, dragonflies, back swimmers, whirligig beetles, and ramshorn snails.
While farming practices no longer depend on dew ponds for water, the restoration of these dew ponds has brought back wildlife biodiversity, which helps restore the health and balance of these natural habitats.
Pollinators support plant reproduction, including crops that humans rely on for food, which protect the food supply of humans and local wildlife. As a result, native vegetation continues to thrive, providing food and shelter for local wildlife.
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"The plants are growing in it; the insects are coming back. Just to see it alive, it's exciting when you come up here, you're never quite sure what you're going to see," Sylvia King, one of the members carrying out the dew ponds ecological surveys, told BBC.
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