West Penwith ecohydrological investigation and characterisation - site visit report: phase 3 2020-21.
Abstract
This report summarizes the field visits of all 11 valley mire sites being considered for inclusion in the SSSI to verify the findings of the desk-study to confirm farm and/or field scale hydrology mapped in the desk-study using open-source GIS and other data, especially with regards to different hydrological risk zones; identify field evidence of areas of groundwater exfiltration and flow pathways; and to collect local knowledge, where possible, through discussions with local landowners and land managers to understand drainage history and how it currently affects the hydrology of the West Penwith mires. Results showed that 2 out of the 11 mire sites, catchment boundaries were changed to reflect the land that influences the mire. The field visit served to identify artificial drainage features that changed the relative influence of areas within the catchments on the mire systems, emphasizing the extent of historic drainage management that many of these sites have been subject to, mainly for the purposes of agricultural management.