Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management

Det här åtgärdsprogrammet fokuserar på temporära sötvatten och de organismer som lever i sådana miljöer. Med temporära vatten menas små stillastående sötvattensamlingar som utmärker sig genom att periodvis torka ut. Dessa saknar tillflöde i form av rinnande vatten och är således helt grundvatten- eller nederbördsförsörjda. Temporära vatten bildas i sänkor i landskapet eller i fördjupningar i berghällar. Det är en heterogen grupp av naturtyper, dit allt från små regnpölar till större vattensamlingar i betesmarker räknas in. Den främsta anledningen till att temporära vatten, och många av deras organismer drabbats negativt, är att de har försvunnit vid de omfattande utdikningar som gjorts under många år till fördel för åkermark.

This Action plan focuses on the preservation of temporary freshwaters occurring in pastures, rock pools and on Nordic alvar, as well as the organisms dependent on these habitats. Temporary waters are small, stagnant areas of freshwater which have a high probability of drying out on a yearly basis. It includes a wide range of habitats, ranging from small rain puddles to larger wetlands. These temporary habitats are either entirely groundwater fed or created by water from precipitation. Temporary waters are typically formed in depressions in the landscape or in the bedrock.   Today temporary waters with high biological values have become rare, primarily due to the historical draining of the landscape in favour of more arable land. Furthermore, some temporary habitats located in rock-pools were subjected to acid rain in the 1970s and 1980s, having had negative effects on the fauna and flora.  This action plan pays special attention to four target species that all are dependent on temporary waters for their survival; the diving beetle Hydaticus continentalis, the tadpole shrimps Triops cancriformis and Lepidurus apus and the clam shrimp Limnadia lenticularis. They all have in common being listed on the Swedish Red list in 2015, but also that their ecology, distribution and habitat requirements in Sweden are poorly known.   

The guidelines in this Action plan are effective from 2019 to 2023 and include several measures that should lead to improved knowledge and improved conditions for the temporary freshwaters and their organisms. The long-term goal of the action plan is to improve the general knowledge and distribution of temporary freshwaters in the landscape, in particular of those harbouring any of the target species. In addition to this, an important challenge is to increase the awareness of authorities and the public about temporary habitats and their unique fauna. To succeed in this, their existence in the landscape as important habitats for biodiversity must be generally accepted, and guidelines to preserve these habitats must be given.  

The short-term goal of the action plan is to identify and characterise existing and potential temporary freshwaters for the target species, with traditional mapping methods as well as with supplementary environmental DNA (eDNA) monitoring.  The Action plan proposes for instance the following actions: 

Create or restore at least 20 habitats for each habitat type.  

Inventory of known and historic localities of the target species   

Inventory of target species by means of eDNA in temporary waters 

Educate unexperienced inventors, as well as personnel working with advice and management at local and regional authorities 

Present strategies to reduce conflicts between creation of permanent waters and the conservation of temporary waters 

Write a literature review that result in guidelines for monitoring and conservation of temporary habitats and their organisms. 

Re-introduce target species where there may be requisites for a longterm conservation.  

Form at least four protected areas (e.g. nature reserves) to benefit the target species  The expected costs for the conservation measures, to be funded from the Swedish Agency for Water and Marine management allocation for action plans is estimated at € 184 000 during the actions plans' validity period 2019-2023.