Abstract
1. After decades of river channelisation, restoration projects are flourishing, many with the aim of reducing flood risk by re-connecting rivers to their floodplains and making space for water. Pond creation is often included to enable temporary storage of surface water as a natural flood management (NFM) measure in catchment-scale restoration programmes.
2. However, evidence on the potential benefits of these newly created NFM ponds for biodiversity is still scarce, including for flagship wetland groups such as dragonflies (Odonata). To examine this, inventories of adult Odonata were undertaken in the Eddleston Water catchment (Scottish Borders). Twenty ponds were surveyed: ten newly created NFM ponds and 10 pre-existing ponds (used as reference sites).
3. Pond creation for NFM has strengthened the regional Odonata populations and increased habitat availability, with all recorded species of dragonflies now found at more sites. NFM ponds display slightly higher Odonata alpha species richness than reference ponds. Community composition of NFM ponds was similar to that of reference ponds, as were their environmental conditions. Richness in Odonata was positively correlated with macrophyte richness and the percentage of pond shoreline covered in emergent vegetation, along with pond density.
4. Practical implication. Our investigation shows that ponds created primarily as NFM measures can host Odonata communities as diverse as established ponds, provided they are well located, well designed, and managed in ways that allow the development of aquatic vegetation in the pond and on its shoreline. As such, the flood management ponds of the Eddleston Water catchment are a good example of effective nature-based solution implementation, tackling the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.
2. However, evidence on the potential benefits of these newly created NFM ponds for biodiversity is still scarce, including for flagship wetland groups such as dragonflies (Odonata). To examine this, inventories of adult Odonata were undertaken in the Eddleston Water catchment (Scottish Borders). Twenty ponds were surveyed: ten newly created NFM ponds and 10 pre-existing ponds (used as reference sites).
3. Pond creation for NFM has strengthened the regional Odonata populations and increased habitat availability, with all recorded species of dragonflies now found at more sites. NFM ponds display slightly higher Odonata alpha species richness than reference ponds. Community composition of NFM ponds was similar to that of reference ponds, as were their environmental conditions. Richness in Odonata was positively correlated with macrophyte richness and the percentage of pond shoreline covered in emergent vegetation, along with pond density.
4. Practical implication. Our investigation shows that ponds created primarily as NFM measures can host Odonata communities as diverse as established ponds, provided they are well located, well designed, and managed in ways that allow the development of aquatic vegetation in the pond and on its shoreline. As such, the flood management ponds of the Eddleston Water catchment are a good example of effective nature-based solution implementation, tackling the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e70081 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Ecological Solutions and Evidence |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 22 Sept 2025 |
Keywords
- biodiversity
- freshwater
- natural flood management
- nature-based solutions
- Odonata
- pond
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Global and Planetary Change
- Ecology
- Nature and Landscape Conservation
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
