E
cosystem
servicesdelivered
Provisioning
Regulation & maintenance
Cultural
Abiotic
C
ontribution
topolicyobjectives
Water Framework Directive
Floods Directive
Birds & Habitats Directive
2020 Biodiversity Strategy
P
otential
biophysicaleffects
Runoff
Reducing pollution
Soil conservation
Habitat
Climate Change
High
Low
Medium
None
The primary purpose of sediment capture ponds is to reduce the potential for
surface water status
deterioration associated with forest management activities. By reducing
one dimension of the
environmental footprint
of forestry, sediment capture ponds contribute to more sustainable land management.
Sediment capture ponds may have a limited ability to reduce bank erosion by slowing flow velocities but their primary focus is to
limit sediment delivery
by increasing
deposition. That may have positive effects on spawning habitat for species such as freshwater pearl mussel.
Suspended sediment can be a major water pollutant in managed forests, as can phosphorus and heavy metals transported with suspended material. By slowing water velocities in
forest ditches, sediment capture ponds can help to
reduce pollutant
sources and prevent pollutants from reaching receiving waters.
Because of their small size, sediment capture ponds have moderate water storage potential, but a
network of ponds
distributed across the landscape may have a significant
ability to
store and slow runoff
, especially during dry conditions when the ponds are empty and have an ability to retain added precipitation. Therefore, multiple ponds
spread throughout a forest may play an appreciable role in flood risk reduction.
