VAN REISEN J (2022) The influence of water extraction on duck populations in the dunes. LIMOSA 95 (3): 134-144.

At the end of the 18th century, water was extracted from the dunes to provide clean drinking water for cities near the coast. As a result, dunes dried up, at the expense of flora and fauna. To avoid negative effects of water extraction on the dunes, drinking water companies decided to infiltrate river or reservoir water into the dunes. Due to the filtering effect of the sand, suitable drinking water was obtained after several months. In this way drinking water could be obtained in a more sustainable way, meeting the needs for clean drinking water of a growing human population. Infiltration coincided with a strong increase in breeding ducks as a lot of new freshwater habitat was created. In addition, due to the nutrient-rich inlet water, vegetation along the banks of the infiltration ponds developed, which provided shelter and nesting opportunities. However, due to the high phosphate content of the inlet water, banks ultimately got overgrown with bushes, and the characteristic nutrient-limited dune vegetations disappeared. This forced drinking water companies to purify the inlet water. As a result, the authentic dune vegetation recovered, but the numbers of ducks decreased. The exception is the Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina, which profited from the improvement of the water quality

[pdf only for members] [dutch summary]