Lowland wetlands - North York Moors National Park

Threats
North York Moors National Park
Lowland Wetland Habitat Action Plan
2008–2012
Odontomyia hydroleon#
• Drainage to improve the value of land for agriculture has been the major
cause of decline in lowland wetland habitats in the National Park.
• Valley fens are particularly susceptible to pollution. Eutrophication from
fertiliser run-off leads to increased plant growth and reduced species
diversity. Trapped silt can dry out wet habitats, and toxins from agricultural
chemicals can kill associated wildlife.
• Many wetland sites are no longer being actively managed through grazing or
cutting and many of these are showing an increase in coarse vegetation and
encroachment by willow and alder scrub.
• Lowland wetlands are not currently seen as a valuable agricultural resource
and payments for maintaining them under agri-environment schemes often do
not reflect their importance to wildlife or the cost of their management to the
farmer.
• There is a lack of up-to-date knowledge concerning the distribution and
condition of lowland wetlands in the National Park, so valuable sites can be
inadvertently lost.
• Lowland wetland habitats cover a small total area in the National Park and
have a highly fragmented distribution. Associated populations of plants and
animals are vulnerable to local extinction because of their small size and the
lack of connectivity.
Requirements
• Inappropriate drainage systems can be deliberately broken up to allow
flushes and marshy grassland areas to redevelop.
• Sensitive livestock grazing and/or cutting regimes are needed to keep
invasive species and scrub at bay whilst breaking up, but not poaching, the
soils and allowing the majority of plants to set seed in at least one year in
three. Cattle and ponies may be particularly useful for this task.
• Continuity of low-input management should be maintained, with the
application of no inorganic fertiliser, no manure and no herbicides.
• Invasive weeds such as creeping thistle and bracken may need to be topped,
trampled, weed-wiped or spot-sprayed to prevent their spread.
• Scrub should be managed to prevent it encroaching on wetland areas. Where
wet woodland is an important component of the habitat, a diverse scrub edge
zone should be encouraged.
• Leave wide arable margins as buffer strips to adjacent wetlands.
• Funding is needed for wetland restoration tasks to be carried out and to
ensure the conservation management of a wetland network.
• Further survey work is needed to identify wetland areas within the national
park.
Current Local Action
• In agri-environment schemes, such as Countryside Stewardship,
Environmental Stewardship or National Park schemes, land managers agree
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