The Solway Firth Partnership undertook hydrodynamic and hydrological habitat classification for restoration planning using a Mini-Buoys monitoring approach. Working with the University of Glasgow this grant enabled assessment of abiotic conditions of natural saltmarsh, bare tidal flats and seagrass habitats. The field sites were arranged along a salinity and wave exposure gradient, from west to east to cover a wide variety of conditions and to allow the future use of the buoys across sites in the Solway. The buoys monitored for around 2 months continuously before being retrieved to collect the data.
In addition to a reference dataset for abiotic intertidal habitat suitability, this project has delivered a tool that is low cost and accessible to non-experts. The data loggers currently used inside the Buoys are rechargeable and can be used for years to come.
Several Mini Buoys are currently deployed at other sites on the Solway which feature seagrass and mudflats to widen the range of habitats that are being assessed.
In 2022 SMEEF was able to provide a grant of £11,968 to support this work using resources from the Nature Restoration Fund.