Sep 11, 2024 · With 80% of these endangered rivers located in Southern England, and more chalk streams in Wiltshire than anywhere else in the UK, these rare waterways are England’s equivalent to the Amazon Rainforest and must urgently be …

May 24, 2024 · When water is released from the chalk, it's rich in minerals which helps feed nearby plants and other wildlife like fish and insects. The Wildlife Trust says they provide habitats for some of...

Apr 23, 2024 · Chalk is a pure type of limestone composed of tiny shells of marine organisms. Deposits are found worldwide, but in England the geological ripples from the rising of the Alps some 40 million...

A diverse invertebrate community is fundamental to a healthy chalk river or stream, providing food for fish and mammals and acting as freshwater detritivores, herbivores and predators. These species, which are often overlooked in conservation, are threatened by habitat loss, habitat decline, pollution, abstraction and invasive non-native species.

May 24, 2024 · When water is released from the chalk, it's rich in minerals which helps feed nearby plants and other wildlife like fish and insects. The Wildlife Trust says they provide habitats for some of...

We’re lucky because the majority of the world’s chalk streams are found in England. But far too many of our waterways have been overused and undervalued. Drained almost dry in places, and polluted in others. Less than a fifth of England’s rivers are healthy, and climate change is putting more pressure on them. Our rivers need help.

Yet many of our chalk streams are now dirty and choked by pollution, threatening the wildlife that calls them home and the people that rely on them for their wellbeing. The Government must introduce specific protections for all chalk streams in their planning reforms, to ensure these unique habitats are conserved and put into recovery for ...

Sep 5, 2022 · England possesses 225 true chalk streams, about 85% of those that exist in the world, and most of them are now endangered. Chalk streams rise from chalk hills. They are fed by underground chalk aquifers and the water is typically pure, clear, and of a constant temperature, having been filtered by the fine chalk rock.

Unique physical and chemical properties result in characteristic biological communities, including some rare or endangered species which display strong preferences for chalk streams. Classic chalk stream plants include Ranunculus spp., (varieties of water-crowfoot), starwort and water-cress; it is no accident that water-cress farming was once ...

Nov 28, 2022 · Traditional mill streams have degraded chalk rivers by perching them and stealing gradient, creating slow silt laden sections separated from groundwater. The brutal encroachment of modern development and habitat degradation present yet more challenges for these rare rivers.