Aquatic plants in village ponds of the Yorkshire Wolds and their eastern margin

摘要

Aquatic plants are often conspicuous in ponds. They are important ecological and wildlife features and are aesthetically attractive. In East Yorkshire, Linton carried out extensive field work on ponds and their plants in the summer of 1996. She surveyed 57 ponds, which had different origins, and included borrow pits alongside railways, ancient moats, village ponds, gravel pits, and clay pits. Her survey demonstrated a wealth of plants. Altogether, 70 aquatic plants were found, representing 38% of theaquatic vascular plant flora of England and Wales (Linton, 1999; Linton & Goulder, 2000). Another study in East Yorkshire, by Chicken (1996), focussed on plants in dew ponds—artificial ponds largely associated with enclosure in the 18th and 19th centuries (Hayfield & Brough, 1986).