Habitat Restoration
In an area like Ayrshire with its high human population density, intensive agriculture and industrial base there is a high likleihood that human activities will have a detrimental impact on water quality and riparian habitats.
Some of the most obvious issues are barriers to fish migration such as the many redundant weirs which were formerly used to tap the power availble from our rivers and burns. Although most of these weirs are redundant many present an impassable obstruction to upstream migrating salmon and trout, even eels although they are capable of taking an overland route to circumvent barriers. Survey work carried out by the Trust has identified most of these barriers, although we suspect not all. Identification of measures to provide fish passes or remove barriers is an important role for the Trust.
One of the most significant causes of habitat degradation in Ayrshire is overgrazing along the edge of watercourses. Excessive grazing pressure can result in a complete loss of vegetation cover and the input of high silt and faecal bacterial loadings. This not only has a negative impact on the immediate watercourse but also for a considerable distance downstream. Low level inputs such as these are termed diffuse pollution and cummulatively they can have a major impact on river quality.
The Trust has implemented a number of habitat restoration projects designed to reduce the impact of diffuse pollution. Pre and post monitoring has shown that rapid improvments in water quality, invertebrate and fish populations can be achieved in the most heavily impacted areas.
