The impact of pumped water from a de-watered Magnesian limestone quarry on an adjacent wetland: Thrislington, County Durham, UK

Mayes, W. M.; Large, A. R. G.; Younger, P. L.

Abstract

Although quarrying is often cited as a potential threat to wetland systems, there is a lack of relevant, quantitative case studies in the literature. The impact of pumped groundwater discharged from a quarry into a wetland area was assessed relative to reference conditions in an adjacent fen wetland that receives only natural runoff. Analysis of vegetation patterns at the quarry wetland site, using Detrended Correspondence Analysis and the species indicator values of Ellenberg, revealed a clear disparity between community transitions in the quarry wetland and the reference site. Limited establishment of moisture-sensitive taxa, the preferential proliferation of robust wetland species and an overall shift towards lower species diversity in the quarry wetland were explicable primarily by the physico-chemical environment created by quarry dewatering. This encompassed high pH (up to 12.8), sediment-rich effluent creating a nutrient-poor substrate with poor moisture retention in the quarry wetland, and large fluctuations in water levels. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Citation

Mayes, W. M., Large, A. R. G., & Younger, P. L. (2005). The impact of pumped water from a de-watered Magnesian limestone quarry on an adjacent wetland: Thrislington, County Durham, UK. Environmental pollution, 138(3), 443-454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2005.04.018

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 22, 2005
• Online Publication Date: Jul 1, 2005
• Publication Date: 2005-12
• Journal: ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
• Print ISSN: 0269-7491
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 138
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 443-454
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2005.04.018
• Keywords: Limestone quarry; Wetland; High pH; Alkaline
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/387069
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026974910500240X?via%3Dihub