Blooming farm ditch

Ditches with good water quality are of great value for biodiversity, for agriculture and for residents and recreationists. HHNK, together with farmers and others, is committed to ecological management and maintenance and to the natural design of ditches.

How is the ecological quality of farm ditches? Through the project Bloeiende boerensloot we invite farmers to Map the quality of their ditches. For this we work together with the agricultural collectives ANV Hollands Noorden and Water, Land & Dijken.

Target

The goal of the project is to share knowledge about the ecological quality of ditches. In addition, we collect information about water quality in the rural area. Together with the participants, we want to look for opportunities to influence this through agricultural water management.

Attention to plant species

The presence of various aquatic and riparian plants says something about water quality. Food-rich or nutrient-poor water determines how many and what types of plants grow. Duckweed and algae grow very quickly when there are many nutrients in the water. As a result, the amount of oxygen in the water decreases and less light can penetrate the ditch. This has negative effects on aquatic life. Floating leaf plants and submerged aquatic plants actually create oxygen in the water. This is good for water quality.

What is required of participants?

Participants conduct an inventory along two or more demolition routes in July or August. For each demolition route, information is collected on several issues, such as:

• site and land use;
• the ditch (including depth, width, dredge layer);
• the plants present under, on and above the water.

Data can be entered online.

Viewer

The viewer shows the locations of the various ditch recordings. By clicking on the bullet at a particular location, you can view information about that ditch.