Intertidal Monitoring of the Mawddach Estuary Biotopes in Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) 2004

The Habitats Directive establishes that the management of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) should aim to achieve the favourable conservation status of habitat and species features listed within its Annex I and Annex II. For SACs in Wales, the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) is therefore required to report on a regular basis on whether features are in favourable conservation status. The Afon Mawddach (Mawddach estuary) is a small, drying, bar-built estuary, and it is one of the best examples of its type in the UK. With its mountainous catchment area, it has some of the lowest nutrient inputs of any estuary in Wales. For this reason, the Mawddach estuary has been included in the Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau marine Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The Mawddach estuary is predominantly a sandy/sandy mud estuary and contains communities characteristic of these conditions. The Institute of Estuarine and Coastal Studies (IECS) as part of the 2004 intertidal monitoring programme undertook a Phase 1 biotope survey of the Mawddach estuary following previous monitoring at the site. Specific aims of the survey included to carry out a Phase 1 biotope survey along predefined transects noting infaunal species and sediment characteristics, to digitally record photographic evidence along each transect and to assign biotopes to each of the sampling locations. This in turn would allow information to be provided on conservation objectives of the Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau SAC estuary feature.

Identifier: NRW_DS102009

Alternative Title

2004 CCW / IECS Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau SAC Afon Mawddach biotope transects MRCCW3020000000A
Monitro Rhynglanwol: Biotopau Aber Mawddach yn ACA Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau, 2004

Metadata Language: English

Lineage: Four transects positioned in the central section of the estuary were resurveyed. The transects were placed, two on each side of the river channel from the saltmarsh at the back of the shore to the river channel and thus traversing the fullest range and zonation of biotopes (from mud to muddy sand to sand). The original stakes, as previously used in the 1999 study, were located and the start position of each transect was noted. Survey techniques used by Wyn and Brazier, 2001 were implemented. This survey work builds on the CCW phase 1 survey of 1997 and initial trials using the same transects in 1999, as part of a LIFE project to evaluate monitoring methods (Sanderson et al. 2001).

Dataset Reference Date (Publication): 2008-12-31

Temporal Extent

Begin date: 2004-07-08

End date: 2004-07-08

Topic category

Biota

Owner

Natural Resources Wales (NRW)

Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales

http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en

Originator

Countryside Council for Wales (CCW)

Countryside Council for Wales, Maes y Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW

http://naturalresourceswales.gov.uk/splash?orig=/

Originator

Hull University. Institute Of Estuarine And Coastal Studies

The University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull, HU6 7RX

http://www.hull.ac.uk/iecs/

Extent

Geographic Extent: Wales (WLS)

Vertical Extent

Medin Extent Keyword: benthic boundary layer

Format Type and Description

Documents ()

Specification

[A] Digital versions of the contract report: Microsoft Word document(s); and an equivalent Adobe Portable Document Format version [B] MapInfo GIS layer in MapInfo Native format (Tables): - Transect and biotope information. - Translations from the above MapInfo Tables are retained in ESRI Shapefile and MapInfo Interchange formats. [C] Excel spreadsheet of transect and biotope information. [D] Photographs from each location. [E] Marine Recorder file: MRCCW3020000000A

Data quality

Quality Scope: Dataset

Conformity: Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services
Explanation
Degree: false

Lineage: Four transects positioned in the central section of the estuary were resurveyed. The transects were placed, two on each side of the river channel from the saltmarsh at the back of the shore to the river channel and thus traversing the fullest range and zonation of biotopes (from mud to muddy sand to sand). The original stakes, as previously used in the 1999 study, were located and the start position of each transect was noted. Survey techniques used by Wyn and Brazier, 2001 were implemented. This survey work builds on the CCW phase 1 survey of 1997 and initial trials using the same transects in 1999, as part of a LIFE project to evaluate monitoring methods (Sanderson et al. 2001).

Keywords

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0

Type: Theme

Citation

Date (Publication): 2008-06-01

Code: geonetwork.thesaurus.external.theme.httpinspireeceuropaeutheme-theme

Keywords

NRW Thesaurus

Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau SAC
marine biology (subtidal biology) (littoral biology) (sublittoral biology)(intertidal biology)(see also seashore)
Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) - SAC monitoring
transect (transects) (transect profile) (transect profiles)
biotopes
sediment flats

Type: Theme

Citation

Date (Publication): 2023-12-31

Code: geonetwork.thesaurus.local.theme.converted_nrw-keywords

Keywords

SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary

Habitat characterisation

Type: Theme

Citation

Date (Revision): 2021-01-06

Code: geonetwork.thesaurus.external.theme.rdf+xml

Code: British National Grid (EPSG::27700)

Content Information

NRW Profile

Custom Elements

NRW Related Title: Intertidal monitoring of the Mawddach Estuary : Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau SAC : 2004

Constraints

Limitations on Public Access and Use

Restriction type: Other restrictions

Access Constraints Directive

Limitations: no limitations

Access Constraints Text

Other constraints: There are no access restrictions to this data. NRW may release, publish or disseminate it freely.

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Use constraints type: Other restrictions

Other constraints: © CNC/NRW 2008. There are no use restrictions on this data. Recipients may re-use, reproduce, disseminate this data free of charge in any format or medium, provided they do so accurately, acknowledging both the source and NRW's copyright, and do not use it in a misleading context. It is the recipient's responsibility to ensure the data is fit for the intended purpose, that dissemination or publishing does not result in duplication, and that it is fairly interpreted. Advice on interpretation should be sought where required. To avoid re-using old data, users should periodically obtain the latest version from the original source.

Metadata

File Identifier: 4f4c4942-4343-5764-6473-313032303039 XML

Metadata Language: English

Parent Identifier: Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Marine Benthic Species and Habitat Collation Held in Marine Recorder
NRW_DS114501

Resource type: Dataset

Metadata Date: 2024-12-09T12:38:11.396Z

Metadata Standard Name: NRW

Metadata Standard Version: 1.0

pointOfContact

Natural Resources Wales (NRW)

Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales

http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en

Publishing Body

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Intertidal Monitoring of the Mawddach Estuary Biotopes in Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) 2004

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Quality

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Keywords

Citation

Keywords

Citation

Keywords

Citation

Spatial Reference System

Content

Content Information

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Constraints

Limitations on Public Access and Use

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Access Constraints Text

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