4f4c4942-4343-5764-6473-313032303039 English NRW_DS109834 Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en 2026-10-20T12:18:33.878Z NRW 1.0 wel utf8 British National Grid (EPSG::27700) Intertidal Monitoring of the Mawddach Estuary Biotopes in Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau Special Area of Conservation (SAC) 2004 Intertidal Monitoring of the Mawddach Estuary Biotopes in Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau Special Area of Conservation (SAC) 2004 Monitro Rhynglanwol: Biotopau Aber Mawddach yn ACA Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau 2004 2004 CCW / IECS Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau SAC Afon Mawddach biotope transects (MRCCW3020000000A) 2008-12-31 NRW_DS102009 http://naturalresources.wales/ 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 Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau SAC Mudflats and sandflats Marine Recorder NRW Thesaurus 2026-10-19 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 Data may be re-used under the terms of the Open Government Licence providing it is done so, acknowledging both the source and NRW's copyright. It is the recipient's responsibility to ensure the data is fit for the intended purpose. Contains Natural Resources Wales information © Natural Resources Wales and Database Right. All rights Reserved. Open Government Licence 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 Database Marine Recorder Online - Version 2.09.02 Marine Recorder 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).