I
Ian Cloke
Guest
An aquatic menace is starting to wreak havoc in Bassenthwaite and Derwentwater, smothering native flora and robbing wildlife of essential food supplies.
Introduced from Tasmania in 1911, crassula - or Australian swamp stonecrop - is a rapidly spreading plant decimating large areas of water and damp ground.
Lake District National Park Authority ranger Pete Barron said everyone had a part to play in coping with the damaging, dense species, which forms a thick carpet of vegetation, killing other plants and severely damaging ecosystems of invertebrates and fish.
?Sadly, it?s very difficult to control and eliminate,? explained Pete. ?Agencies internationally are looking at effective eradication methods. We are trying chemicals, plastic covering and hand pulling. But the public have a huge part to play here.
?They can help by cleaning equipment such as fishing gear, wellies and boats, particularly if they are going off to another lake. Under no circumstances should garden pond plants be placed in the wild ? it?s now an offence.
?Basically, this is very bad news. Discussions are ongoing with aquatic environment experts to find out what is feasible and practical.?
Crassula helmsii was first sold as an oxygenating plant and has been spreading extensively in the wild in recent years.
It grows around the damp margins of ponds and in water up to three metres deep. First appearing as a small, light green tussock on sediment, it rapidly becomes a large, dense mat of vegetation, annihilating everything in its path.
?This is a very worrying problem as there are still no successful ways of completely getting rid crassula,? said manager of Bassenthwaite Lake Restoration Programme John Pinder.
?Obviously the spawning beds of our endangered vendace fish are at risk and we are watching closely for any developments in the search for an effective way to get rid of the very harmful plant.
?I would ask that people are vigilant in not spreading it to currently clear areas of wetland.?
LINKS
Bassenthwaite Lake Restoration Programme
http://www.lake-district.gov.uk/bassenthwaite
Invasive non-native plants in the UK - Plantlife organisation
http://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/plantlife-campaigning-change-invasive-plants.html
Rare Vendace fish in the UK
http://www.ukbap.org.uk/ukplans.aspx?ID=236
Introduced from Tasmania in 1911, crassula - or Australian swamp stonecrop - is a rapidly spreading plant decimating large areas of water and damp ground.
Lake District National Park Authority ranger Pete Barron said everyone had a part to play in coping with the damaging, dense species, which forms a thick carpet of vegetation, killing other plants and severely damaging ecosystems of invertebrates and fish.
?Sadly, it?s very difficult to control and eliminate,? explained Pete. ?Agencies internationally are looking at effective eradication methods. We are trying chemicals, plastic covering and hand pulling. But the public have a huge part to play here.
?They can help by cleaning equipment such as fishing gear, wellies and boats, particularly if they are going off to another lake. Under no circumstances should garden pond plants be placed in the wild ? it?s now an offence.
?Basically, this is very bad news. Discussions are ongoing with aquatic environment experts to find out what is feasible and practical.?
Crassula helmsii was first sold as an oxygenating plant and has been spreading extensively in the wild in recent years.
It grows around the damp margins of ponds and in water up to three metres deep. First appearing as a small, light green tussock on sediment, it rapidly becomes a large, dense mat of vegetation, annihilating everything in its path.
?This is a very worrying problem as there are still no successful ways of completely getting rid crassula,? said manager of Bassenthwaite Lake Restoration Programme John Pinder.
?Obviously the spawning beds of our endangered vendace fish are at risk and we are watching closely for any developments in the search for an effective way to get rid of the very harmful plant.
?I would ask that people are vigilant in not spreading it to currently clear areas of wetland.?
LINKS
Bassenthwaite Lake Restoration Programme
http://www.lake-district.gov.uk/bassenthwaite
Invasive non-native plants in the UK - Plantlife organisation
http://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/plantlife-campaigning-change-invasive-plants.html
Rare Vendace fish in the UK
http://www.ukbap.org.uk/ukplans.aspx?ID=236