The recent discovery of a rare perennial plant, Lesser Water-plantain (Baldellia ranunculoides), in a new pond created in Oxfordshire by the Newt Conservation Partnership, the NatureSpace District Licensing Scheme conservation delivery partner, affirms the need for new, high-quality ponds to conserve British wildlife and boost biodiversity.

The plant species, which has suffered rapid declines over recent decades, was found in a new pond at Whitecross Green Wood, near Bicester – a site managed by Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. The plant is thought to have spread from seed via a Mallard or other bird from an existing pond on Otmoor SSSI near Oxford.

Experts from Freshwater Habitats Trust, who form the Newt Conservation Partnership alongside experts from Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, surveyed wetland plants in 25 new ponds created by the Newt Conservation Partnership between 2018 and 2020 in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire. The aim was to assess whether the ponds have a wider conservation value, in addition to creating high-quality habitats for great crested newts.

Newt Conservation Partnership CEO Dr Pascale Nicolet says: “The results of our survey show that the clean water ponds we are creating through the Newt Conservation Partnership and NatureSpace District Licence Scheme are not only delivering for Great Crested Newt but are supporting freshwater wildlife as a whole, including many rare species.”

Freshwater Habitats Trust CEO Professor Jeremy Biggs adds: “Because of their small size, ponds are typically overlooked and undervalued but we now know they are critically important for biodiversity. In fact, at landscape scale, they support more species than larger waterbodies, including rivers and lakes. This is why it is vital that, to reverse the decline in freshwater biodiversity, we protect the whole freshwater environment.”