4f4c4942-4343-5764-6473-313032303039 English NRW_DS114501 Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en 2026-03-03T11:15:30.063Z NRW 1.0 wel British National Grid (EPSG::27700) Intertidal Monitoring of the Mawddach Estuary Biotopes in Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) 2004 Intertidal Monitoring of the Mawddach Estuary Biotopes in Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) 2004 2004 CCW / IECS Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau SAC Afon Mawddach biotope transects MRCCW3020000000A Monitro Rhynglanwol: Biotopau Aber Mawddach yn ACA Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau, 2004 2008-12-31 NRW_DS102009 The Habitats Directive establishes that the management of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) should aim to achieve the favourable conservation status of habitat and species features listed within its Annex I and Annex II. For SACs in Wales, the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) is therefore required to report on a regular basis on whether features are in favourable conservation status. The Afon Mawddach (Mawddach estuary) is a small, drying, bar-built estuary, and it is one of the best examples of its type in the UK. With its mountainous catchment area, it has some of the lowest nutrient inputs of any estuary in Wales. For this reason, the Mawddach estuary has been included in the Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau marine Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The Mawddach estuary is predominantly a sandy/sandy mud estuary and contains communities characteristic of these conditions. The Institute of Estuarine and Coastal Studies (IECS) as part of the 2004 intertidal monitoring programme undertook a Phase 1 biotope survey of the Mawddach estuary following previous monitoring at the site. Specific aims of the survey included to carry out a Phase 1 biotope survey along predefined transects noting infaunal species and sediment characteristics, to digitally record photographic evidence along each transect and to assign biotopes to each of the sampling locations. This in turn would allow information to be provided on conservation objectives of the Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau SAC estuary feature. The Habitats Directive establishes that the management of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) should aim to achieve the favourable conservation status of habitat and species features listed within its Annex I and Annex II. For SACs in Wales, the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) is therefore required to report on a regular basis on whether features are in favourable conservation status. The Afon Mawddach (Mawddach estuary) is a small, drying, bar-built estuary, and it is one of the best examples of its type in the UK. With its mountainous catchment area, it has some of the lowest nutrient inputs of any estuary in Wales. For this reason, the Mawddach estuary has been included in the Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau marine Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The Mawddach estuary is predominantly a sandy/sandy mud estuary and contains communities characteristic of these conditions. The Institute of Estuarine and Coastal Studies (IECS) as part of the 2004 intertidal monitoring programme undertook a Phase 1 biotope survey of the Mawddach estuary following previous monitoring at the site. Specific aims of the survey included to carry out a Phase 1 biotope survey along predefined transects noting infaunal species and sediment characteristics, to digitally record photographic evidence along each transect and to assign biotopes to each of the sampling locations. This in turn would allow information to be provided on conservation objectives of the Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau SAC estuary feature. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) Countryside Council for Wales, Maes y Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk http://naturalresourceswales.gov.uk/splash?orig=/ Hull University. Institute Of Estuarine And Coastal Studies The University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull, HU6 7RX iecs@hull.ac.uk http://www.hull.ac.uk/iecs/ Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en Habitats and biotopes GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0 2008-06-01 geonetwork.thesaurus.external.theme.httpinspireeceuropaeutheme-theme sediment flats marine biology (subtidal biology) (littoral biology) (sublittoral biology)(intertidal biology)(see also seashore) biotopes transect (transects) (transect profile) (transect profiles) Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau SAC Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) - SAC monitoring NRW Thesaurus 2025-01-08 geonetwork.thesaurus.local.theme.converted_nrw-keywords Habitat characterisation SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary 2024-06-19 geonetwork.thesaurus.external.theme.rdf+xml There are no access restrictions to this data. NRW may release, publish or disseminate it freely. no limitations © CNC/NRW 2008. There are no use restrictions on this data. Recipients may re-use, reproduce, disseminate this data free of charge in any format or medium, provided they do so accurately, acknowledging both the source and NRW's copyright, and do not use it in a misleading context. It is the recipient's responsibility to ensure the data is fit for the intended purpose, that dissemination or publishing does not result in duplication, and that it is fairly interpreted. Advice on interpretation should be sought where required. To avoid re-using old data, users should periodically obtain the latest version from the original source. English biota SeaVoX Vertical Co-ordinate Coverages 2021-01-06 benthic boundary layer Wales (WLS) -4.057472554 -3.925274303 52.70365624 52.76072839 2004-07-08 2004-07-08 Intertidal monitoring of the Mawddach Estuary : Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau SAC : 2004 Documents [A] Digital versions of the contract report: Microsoft Word document(s); and an equivalent Adobe Portable Document Format version [B] MapInfo GIS layer in MapInfo Native format (Tables): - Transect and biotope information. - Translations from the above MapInfo Tables are retained in ESRI Shapefile and MapInfo Interchange formats. [C] Excel spreadsheet of transect and biotope information. [D] Photographs from each location. [E] Marine Recorder file: MRCCW3020000000A Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services 2010-12-08 This dataset has not been assessed for conformance to the referenced INSPIRE regulation. false Four transects positioned in the central section of the estuary were resurveyed. The transects were placed, two on each side of the river channel from the saltmarsh at the back of the shore to the river channel and thus traversing the fullest range and zonation of biotopes (from mud to muddy sand to sand). The original stakes, as previously used in the 1999 study, were located and the start position of each transect was noted. Survey techniques used by Wyn and Brazier, 2001 were implemented. This survey work builds on the CCW phase 1 survey of 1997 and initial trials using the same transects in 1999, as part of a LIFE project to evaluate monitoring methods (Sanderson et al. 2001). Four transects positioned in the central section of the estuary were resurveyed. The transects were placed, two on each side of the river channel from the saltmarsh at the back of the shore to the river channel and thus traversing the fullest range and zonation of biotopes (from mud to muddy sand to sand). The original stakes, as previously used in the 1999 study, were located and the start position of each transect was noted. Survey techniques used by Wyn and Brazier, 2001 were implemented. This survey work builds on the CCW phase 1 survey of 1997 and initial trials using the same transects in 1999, as part of a LIFE project to evaluate monitoring methods (Sanderson et al. 2001).