Celebrating floodplains on World Wetlands Day 

By Paul Goriup, Head of Ecology

Celebrating floodplains on World Wetlands Day 

While reflecting on wetlands as World Wetlands Day comes around, many people may envisage marshes, ponds, broads and lakes, as well rivers and their deltas. However, there is a type of wetland that is often overlooked – floodplain meadows. These grasslands, redolent with wildflowers, insects and birds, are iconic in the UK, immortalised through time by artists like John Constable.  

Floodplains are estimated to cover between 800,000 and 2 million km2 of the Earth, equating to just 1.4% of the land surface. Yet, they contribute around 25% of all terrestrial ecosystem services (the benefits we receive from nature) from flood alleviation to carbon sequestration, hay production to fish-spawning grounds. They are important habitats for a host of rare species, such as Eurasian Curlew and Snake’s-head Fritillary, and also provide us with places for recreation and reflection. 

Despite their importance to our wellbeing in so many ways, these amazing places are severely threatened. In Britain, the Floodplain Meadows Partnership has reported1 that nearly 70% of floodplain land is urbanised or intensively farmed. At least 42% of all floodplains in England have been separated from their river and 90% of UK floodplains are no longer fit for purpose. Birds like Snipe and Redshank have all but disappeared from our lowland wet grasslands. 

World Wetlands Day was established in 2021 by the UN General Assembly and seeks to draw attention to the myriad benefits from wetlands such as floodplains, as well as to the threats they sadly face. Our floodplains are in desperate need of repair, to foster dynamic natural processes and provide more sustainable and resilient habitats, such as meadows, marshes and wet woodland. Around Newbury, we can see how such habitats can provide buffers against flooding, trap soil running off sloping land and store carbon in reedbeds. The current public consultation on the Berkshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy is an opportunity to build on these natural assets2. 

For us at NatureBureau, wetlands and their health – in the UK and further afield – are embedded into much of our work. The EU-funded research project, Restore4Life, is just one such initiative we are involved in, promoting the restoration of the ecological functions of degraded wetlands, including nature-based solutions. Find out more about this project on our blog: https://www.naturebureau.co.uk/blog/restore4life-project