Information and Advisory Note Number 4
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1.1 It has been estimated that there are at least 31,460 freshwater lochs in
Scotland. These range in size from the small peaty mountain
lochans < 1 ha in
area to the expanse of Loch Lomond (7110 ha) In Scotland, 1.9% of the land
surface is covered by fresh waters. The distribution has a marked north-west to
southeast gradient with the highest concentration of lochs occurring in the
Western Isles (over 7500 lochs). In terms of volume, the water contained in Loch
Ness (7,452,000,000 m3) is nearly twice that found in the standing waters of
England and Wales combined.
1.2 Despite the great extent of the freshwater
resource, relatively little information is available
on which to base nature conservation
assessments The bathymetrical survey of 562
lochs throughout Scotland by Murray and Pullar
(1910) concentrated on the physical
characteristics of the lochs although some floral
and faunal information was collected. Spence
(1964) sampled the vegetation of over 100
lochs and associated swamps and fens from
Wigtownshire to Shetland. A limited nation-wide
survey was earned out for A Nature
Conservation Review (Ratcliffe, 1977) As a
result 40 open water sites were identified as
being of national conservation importance
Local floras contain sporadic references to the
plants occurring In freshwater lochs. In the
1960s and early 1970s, however, there was no
comprehensive data set on which to base
national conservation assessments.
2.1 The National Parks and Access to the
Countryside Act 1949 gave the Nature
Conservancy (and its successors) statutory
functions including the identification and
notification of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and the provision
of advice and dissemination of knowledge about nature conservation. One
important objective has been the comparison of natural areas and to set them in
a national and local context.
2.2 With respect to freshwater lochs a 'stock take' and the development of a
classification scheme was necessary before progress could be made. On this
premise a comprehensive survey of British standing waters was initiated in 1975,
with the major Scottish programme of work starting in South Uist in 1983. A
combination of factors relating to staff expertise, availability of
identification keys and simplicity of survey techniques led to the selection of
aquatic plants as the major group for survey.
4 1 Since 1983, 2352 lochs have been surveyed The coverage of the loch survey
between 1983 and 1995 is shown in Figure 1 Table 1 shows a breakdown of the
numbers of lochs surveyed each year An ongoing programme of summer survey work
should result in the completion of the survey by the year 2000.
Lochs are selected for survey within areas based on the SNH administrative
boundaries (Areas of Search) (formerly NCC boundaries) In some areas,
particularly vulnerable or interesting sites are identified and survey is
limited to these In other areas, a synoptic survey approach is employed All
standing water bodies appearing on the 1 50,000 Ordnance Survey maps are
identified and fitted into a three-way matrix based on surface area, altitude
and underlying solid geology Priority sites are selected from this matrix
following liaison with regional staff and include
This site selection occurs during the winter months and the regional staff are involved with arranging site access
Field work is carried out during the summer months (June to September). The
protocol involves a complete circumnavigation of the loch at wader depth
recording the shoreline and shallow water aquatic plant species. Deeper water is
sampled by means of a double-headed rake thrown from the bank at frequent
intervals along the shore Where possible a boat is used and grapnel samples are
obtained from the bottom along transects across the loch All aquatic plants are
recorded on a subjective DAFOR abundance scale (Dominant, Abundant, Frequent,
Occasional, Rare) Stands of emergent vegetation are marked on a large-scale map
of the site and the distribution of dominant and otherwise notable species in
all three vegetation zones is indicated Emergent stands are classified according
to the National Vegetation Classification (NVC) scheme for swamps and tall-herb
fens (Rodwell, 1995). Voucher specimens of plants which are not readily
identifiable in the field are kept for verification by experts (e g Potamogeton
spp , Utricularia spp (bladderworts) and charophytes (stoneworts)).
Other observations are made on substrate, water colour and clarity, adjacent
land use, wetland edges, artificial features, use of or
damage to the site, inflows and outflows and obvious fauna. Water samples are
collected from the outflow and tested for pH, conductivity and alkalinity.
6 1 The site classification was accomplished through the analysis of data
collected between 1975 and 1988 from 1124 sites in England, Scotland and Wales
These water bodies included lakes, meres, reservoirs, ponds, pools, gravel pits
and canals of which over half were in Scotland.
6 2 For each site a species list of all the floating and submerged plants was
drawn up and these data were subjected to TWINSPAN (Two Way Indicator Species
Analysis) This analysis produced an ordered matrix of sites by species and a
series of 10 end-groups of sites with similar vegetational characteristics.
These groups or types show a general trend of increasing nutrient status from
dystrophic type 1 sites to mesotrophic type 5 sites and eutrophic type 10 sites
(see Table 2 for general description). Table 3 shows the species and the average
number of aquatic plants associated with each loch type The NVC communities most
common in emergent fringes of the 10 loch types are shown in Table 4
A simple dichotomous key is used to assign a loch type to a new site on the basis of its floating and submerged flora. (See key at end of note)
7 1 Once standing water sites in a particular AOS have been classified, it is possible to evaluate them by making comparisons within loch types Some of the following criteria may be taken into account (Nature Conservancy Council, 1989).
A range of designations may be applied to freshwater lochs each conferring varying degrees of protection. These designations include SSSI, NNR, Ramsar site and (in due course) Special Area of Conservation (SAC) Rare plant species are covered by the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981, Bern Convention and EC Habitats Directive.
8.1
The methodology and classification scheme is described by Palmer et al (1992)
8.2
For each loch, a site survey report is prepared which includes geographical
information, lists of plants recorded and a map of the site. Copies of these are
held in the Area Offices of SNH and in the Research and Advisory Services
Directorate (RASD) in Edinburgh.
8 3 Area reports provide a synopsis of the range and quality of lochs within an
AOS and provide recommendations for site notification (Table 5).
8 4 A large number of herbarium specimens of aquatic plants, including a full
range of Potamogeton species, are kept at the RASD office in Edinburgh and are
available for examination.
8 5 The contacts in the Aquatic Environments Branch (RASD) can offer advice with
plant identification.
8.6 A database of all the lochs included in the survey is held on the SNH
computer network.
8 7 It is envisaged that a synoptic volume describing the
entire survey will appear by the end of the decade.
Maitland, P.S., Boon, PJ. & McLusky, D.S.
(eds) 1994. The fresh waters of Scotland A national resource of international
significance. Chichester, John Wiley & Sons
Murray, J. & Pullar, L. 1910 Bathymetrical survey of the fresh water lochs of
Scotland Edinburgh, Challenger Office
Nature Conservancy Council 1989 Guidelines for selection of biological SSSIs
Peterborough, Nature Conservancy Council
Palmer, M.A., Belt, S.L & Butterfield, I.1992 A botanical classification of
standing waters in Great Britain applications for conservation and monitoring
Aquatic Conservation Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. 2, 125-143
Ratcliffe, D.R. (ed ) 1977 A Nature Conservation Review Cambridge, Cambridge
University Press
Rodwell, J.S. (ed) 1995 British plant communities Volume 4 Aquatic communities.
swamps and tall-herb fens Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
Spence, D.H.N. 1964. The macrophyte vegetation of lochs, swamps and associated
fens In The vegetation of Scotland ed by J.H Burnett, 306-425 Edinburgh, Oliver
and Boyd
Dr Olivia Lassiere
Dr Olivia Lassiere Aquatic Botanist
Dr Philip Boon
Head of Aquatic Environments Branch
Dr Willie Duncan
Freshwater Conservation Officer
All located at
Research and Advisory Services
Directorate
2/5 Anderson Place
Edinburgh EH6 5NP
Tel. 0131 447 4784
Key to loch types
Start at couplet 1 and calculate the overall score for the couplet by giving a
point for each species (either negative or positive) which occurs at the loch
(abundance levels on the DAFOR scale) Follow the instructions in the 'Score'
column until the loch type is keyed out (Adapted from Nature Conservancy
Council, 1989)
