Fen Management Handbook - Scottish Natural Heritage

9.10.2 Creation of niches for plant establishment
Bare ground or niches which allow germination and seedling establishment can
help in creation and restoration of semi-natural fen communities. Suitable niches
can be created by poaching (see Section 6: Fen Vegetation Management). The type
of livestock is not important, but timing can be. The best time to create germinating
niches using stock is in the autumn when seed is naturally shed. 10- 20% of the
sward should be covered by hoof prints. At this level the surface vegetation is open
but suppressed enough that it will not overshadow the newly germinated seedlings
when growth starts in the spring.
In a study that compared germination and seedling establishment of four
fen species (Carex ovalis, Cirsium dissectum, Molinia caerulea, and
Succisa pratensis) in a type of fen-meadow (Cirsio-Molinietum) with
that of a semi-improved species-poor grass dominated rush-pasture
it was found that soil disturbance was the major factor that increased
germination (Isselstein et al. 2002). Seedling establishment was greater
in the fen-meadow than the rush-pasture, which was attributed to the
sward being more open. Safe niches for seedling establishment were
not present in the rush-pasture. The inability to provide species-specific
conditions for seedling recruitment appears to be a major factor limiting
establishment of fen-meadow species on creation sites.
9.10.3 Protection from grazing
Grazing of reed seedlings by geese has been a problem at a number of sites.
Deer, rabbits and hares readily graze leaves of sedges on more terrestrial sites.
The use of protective meshing of fences may be necessary to stop geese walking
or swimming into stands of planted out sedge and reed. Wire mesh is only likely
to be affordable for small areas, but fences with white tape were found to be very
effective at discouraging the entry of Canada geese into an area planted out with
Spartina alterniflora (Garbisch 2005). Protection of planted areas is particularly
important where there are high concentrations of waterfowl or where people feed
ducks and swans. In the UK it was found that limiting open water to very small areas
helped prevent geese from flying into areas recently planted out.
9.10.4 Nurse crops
Netting of reed seedlings at
Needingworth (N. Droy)
Nurse crops are used to stabilise unstable substrates like silt, and also to create
a less hostile environment for seedling growth. Nurse crops therefore need to
establish quickly, but over time diminish in vigour allowing weaker fen plants to
209