Rye Harbour Nature Reserve



Rye Harbour Nature Reserve

Introduction

The Rye Harbour Nature Reserve is a village along the coast of East Sussex in England. It was established in 1970 and about 200,000 visitors visit this site each year. It is home to about 3300 species of which 150 are classified as endangered. Rye harbor has a very unique military heritage. It is home to military fortifications dating from the 16th century to the 18 century. It also has a very flourishing fleet and boat servicing community. It has numerous bars and restaurants that can accommodate a lot of visitors annually. Its golden beaches, nature reserves, museums and castles provide the visitors with an enriched experience (www.wildrye.info).

It is a very useful recreational area for visitors from all over the world. It has many tourists' sites such as Saltmarsh, saline lagoon, marsh habitats and reedbed. There is a well built network of footpaths which makes it very convenient for visitors to explore these areas (www.wildrye.info).

Measuring Biodiversity

While measuring biodiversity, it must be kept in mind that it is a multidimensional concept. It cannot be stated in a single number.

There will be three facts of biodiversity that would be employed to measure biodiversity in Rye harbor Nature Reserve:

Numbers: the number of species, genes, populations and taxa in this area will be measured

Evenness: through this facet, the extent will be determined to which he individuals are dispersed among the various species.

Difference: the difference among the organisms needs to be studied. These may exist with regards to alleles, taxa, populations or species. It could be that there a species may have different populations which can be classified as different sub-species, and so on.

Records exist as late as 2010 regarding the number of species in Rye Harbor. They need to be updated in this current year. Biodiversity will first be measured in a general way which would include measuring the number of species by dividing the harbor into several areas including its adjoining areas. The species will be classified according to their importance; local, common, notable and rare (www.environment-agency.gov.uk).

Species to the end of 2012

Local

Common

Notable

Rare

Total

Castle Water

Castle Farm

Davis' Field

Rye Harbour SSII

Rye Harbour LNR

Rye Bay

The other classification would divide the species in Flora and Fauna. Their distribution would be as follows:

Flora

Vascular Plants

Bryophytes

Lichens

Fungi

Fauna

Birds

Species of International Importance

Species of National Importance

Species of Regional Importance

Other Vertebrates

Invertebrates

Rare Invertebrates

Notable Invertebrates

The communities would be studied after conducting a detailed survey of the habitat. 10 general communities would be identified in this regard:

Intertidal

Saltmarsh

Reclaimed Saltmarsh

Drainage Ditches

Shingle Ridges

Natural, bare Ridges

Natural, Vegetated ridges

Damaged Ridges

Sand

Pits

Marsh

Scrub

Woodland

The land at Rye Harbor Nature Reserve is important in many aspects apart from helping the study of wildlife and being rich in biodiversity. It is a source of entertainment for many people which also has other far reaching objectives. The Rye Harbour Farm which is the property of Environmental Agency was purchased with the goal of developing the Pett Frontage Sea Defence Scheme. This land can meet up to the standard of EA's environmental ...