The impact of sand extraction at Formby Point ... - Sefton Council

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14 1961. The 1945 aerial photo shows that sand-winning invaded this area but evidence on the ground has been obscured by later accretion. About 100m north of the Rifle Range boundary is an enclave of lower-lying land extending about 100m westwards and probably representing an old extraction site. Except for some low semi-fixed, ridges, this area is now largely covered with Creeping Willow. One deeper basin (slack 28) was excavated as a small Natterjack Toad scrape in 1988 and reprofiled in 2005. The shallow central area has been colonised by Common Spike-rush (Eleocharis palustris) and Water Horsetail (Equisetum fluviatile), while the dryer surrounds support a rich plant community, including Small-fruited Yellow-sedge, marsh orchids, Grass-of-Parnassus, Seaside Centaury, Knotted Pearlwort, etc. Another, larger, slack basin to the south (slack 26) is mostly dominated by tall Creeping Willow but, around the margins, it has Marsh Helleborine, marsh-orchids and the nationally scarce Round-leaved Wintergreen, the latter in some abundance. To the east is a large enclosure winter-grazed by Herdwick sheep and year-round by Rabbits. Most of this plot has a more-or-less level topography with extensive Creeping Willow. Slightly higher ground supports a sward of Red Fescue and Marram with much Dewberry. Small, scattered, bare patches are associated with Rabbit activity but sheep do not seem to have had much effect on the substrate. The Dune Helleborine has been recorded as “local” on fixed-dunes within the reserve (English Nature 2004) but was not observed during my visits. There is a scattering of larger willows, mainly Grey Willow, but also many bushes of Salix x friesiana and one or two that may be S. x angusensis. A small plot, fenced to exclude livestock, is heavily colonised by large willows. The frequency of willow bushes increases near to the main borrow-pit, this being one of the greatest concentrations on the Sefton coast of rare willow hybrids, including about 50 bushes of Salix x friesiana. Adjacent to the borrow-pit are two large (c. 1ha) wet-slack basins, numbered 2 and 20 by Smith (1978a). No. 20 supports an important population of Flat-sedge and a number of willows, including a single Purple Willow (S. purpurea), one bush of S. x doniana, 18 of S. x friesiana and also a Bay Willow (S. pentandra) which, although not notable, is rare in the dunes.
15 Slack 2 was progressively invaded by mainly Grey Willow over a thirty year period, until 2005 when site managers removed all but the rare hybrid willows, there being now eight S. x friesiana bushes and, nearby, one of the nationally scarce Salix x subsericea (16 post-1987 hectads in the British Isles). Follow-up surveys (Smith 2007b) showed that the cleared slack was colonised by 139 vascular plants, 28 being new to the NNR and 11 regionally/nationally notable. The western borrow-pit (slack 1), being wetter than the adjacent dunes and slacks, has large areas of semi-aquatic vegetation, including stands of Common Reed (Phragmites australis), Sea Club-rush (Bolboschoenus maritimus), Blunt-flowered Rush (Juncus subnodulosus) and Water Horsetail with some Shore Horsetail. Dryer fringes are rich in slack plants such as Marsh Helleborine, marsh-orchids, Yellow Bartsia (Parentucellia viscosa) (regionally notable) and Grass-of-Parnassus. In the dryer, eastern borrow-pit (slack 3), the latter species achieves arguably its greatest abundance in the entire dune system, assisted by heavy Rabbit-grazing which reduces competition from taller-growing plants. Slack 1 has been reprofiled several times since its formation in attempts to improve its value as a Natterjack Toad breeding site. Most recently, in 2006, a central section was lined with fresh sand. This was used for spawning by a few Natterjacks but also, unfortunately, by large numbers of Common Toads. This borrow-pit is also deep enough to support Odonata in some years, species recorded here including Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa), Emperor (Anax imperator), Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) and Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum). 3. Ecological impact of sand-winning: positive and negative trends Because detailed records were not kept before about 1970, it is now difficult to assess the ecological impact of sand-winning. Clearly, when it first took place there must have been catastrophic disruption to ecosystems, including loss of habitat, local species extinctions and destruction of soils and seed-banks. Increased sand-blow may also have affected
Page 1 and 2: 1 The impact of sand extraction at
Page 3 and 4: • Rapid, up-to-date assessment of
Page 5 and 6: 5 jackii) with a smaller component
Page 7 and 8: grazed, fixed-dune grassland charac
Page 9 and 10: 9 The vegetation of the main quarry
Page 11 and 12: 11 on the Sefton Coast occur here b
Page 13: leaved Wintergreen (Pyrola rotundif
Page 17 and 18: are often accompanied by nationally
Page 19 and 20: 19 by blown sand is mentioned; thes
Page 21 and 22: Creeping Willow nearby seems to be
Page 23 and 24: 6.3.1. Smaller-scale 23 • Cut bac
Page 25 and 26: Smith, P.H. (1978c). Cabin Hill - a

The impact of sand extraction at Formby Point ... - Sefton Council

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