Aanleg, beheer en monitoring van amfibieënpoelen in het buitengebied van den gemeente Ede

Local authority funds new ponds in its farmland area Since 1990, thirty ponds have been dug for amphibians on 320 km2 of agricultural land. This happened under the auspices of local authority of Ede, in the province of Gelderland. Each pond was treated as a case apart and had its own implemantation. The choice of location depended on the ground water level, whether there were populations of amphibians present and the presence of suitable habitat for the winter. The area and depth of the pond was then decided and applications made for the necessary permits for creating a pond and maintaining it. Monitoring showed that the investment had certainly paid off – in various places in the intensively farmed area, biodiversity had increased through the presence of a pond. Within a short time, populations of Rana temporaria, R. kl. esculenta, Triturus vulgaris, Bufo bufo, and B. calamita had established themselves. Even ponds that had been dug relatively recently had been used for reproduction by B.bufo, R. kl. Esculenta and R. temporaria. This all shows that digging ponds has given populations of common amphibians a chance to occur more widely. Some species are more demanding: T. vulgaris was only found in older ponds with well-developed vegetation both in and around the pond? This newt therefore deserves extra attention. A report on the monitoring results with advice on the best way to look after the ponds has been handed over to the landowners, who in the meantime have followed it up! These ponds are of great importance for the amphibian populations occurring in this area: they must be kept free of fish, and have sufficient water vegetation and suitable land habitat nearby.