Baddoch Burn - United Kingdom

The Baddoch Burn has been monitored by Marine Scotland Science Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory since 1988. The site was added to the UK UWMN in 2013, extending the alkalinity gradient of sites within the Network as well as providing long-term high-quality chemistry and fish records that are directly compatible with measurements performed in other monitoring sites. The Baddoch Burn lies in the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland and forms part of the headwaters of the River Dee. The catchment area is 2260 ha and rises from 415m altitude at the long-term chemistry sampling and fish trap location to 975m at the summit of Carn a Gheodh. The 9.3 ha Loch Vrotachan lies in the southern section and the outflow feeds into Allt Loch Vrotachan before reaching the Baddoch Burn. There is a very small amount of commercial coniferous forestry at the lowest end of the catchment. Other land-use consists of extensive grouse-moor, with associated muirburn, and grazing by red deer. Loch Vrotachan is fished for Brown Trout. The Burn forms the top of the River Dee Special Area of Conservation and the catchment lies within both the Cairngorms Massif Special Protection Area and the Cairngorm National Park. Rainfall, recorded from nearby Braemar, is ca. 860 mm annually.