Ponds also provide a habitat for common species which may become endangered with pond loss, e.g. Common Frog Rana temporaria or Common Newt Triturus vulgaris. Current factors causing loss or decline 1. The surviving ponds are often isolated with degraded habitat, i.e. limited vegetation around and often containing polluted water. Urbanisation - ponds on land sold for development are usually filled in, any remaining may become polluted.ponds are often used as a tipping ground for refuse. The ponds within the Oldham area may, left unmanaged, follow any of the three routes indicated.
Temporary pools develop where water is shallow and sediment inputs are low.
Traditional successional route, the final stages of which may persist for long periods. Floating rafts of vegetation which may, if nutrient input is low, develop rich fen or bog communities. Section six of the Oldham UDP, Open Environments, lays out the conservation strategy for the Borough. The policies imply protection mainly for designated sites, e.g. SSSI s and SBI s etc. A logical step to assist in any conservation strategy would be to categorise and grade the ponds within Oldham using a standard classification.