Invertebrate Monitoring on the River Itchen & River Leam

River invertebrates provide a good indication of the water quality of our rivers and are susceptible to sedimentation, pollution incidents, and variations in flow. Working with a number of farmers in the Leam catchment we have monitored river invertebrates in areas which have been prone to cattle poaching the banks.  

A number of these landowners have agreed to fencing off the river from livestock in order to reduce sedimentation and keep their valuable topsoil where it should be! Once the fencing is complete we shall return and do some more river invertebrate monitoring to see if there are any improvements in the number and diversity of invertebrates found.

We'll keep you posted!