creating environmental improvements through biodiversity

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Sustainable Aggregates Creating Environmental Improvements through Biodiversity archaeological and environmental levels needs more detailed information than currently available • The river is an artefact of large amounts of management and will continue to require management to remain an open watercourse • The full character of the river for much of its past is not entirely understood, so it is difficult to recognise its effects on local land use • The need for more absolutely dated evidence and maximum understanding of available data is apparent • The consequences of alterations in the channel need to be kept in mind Part 2 – Palaeo-environmental findings from literature include (for different areas within the valley): • That dry-land mixed deciduous woodland on surrounding slopes had largely been cleared by 1500 BC • That there was a subtle but significant clearance of floodplain woodland between 1200 BC and 1000 BC, and another around 650 BC • That the landscape then became largely open with pasture, arable cultivation and hedges • Hydrological features have included palaeochannels (former streams) as well as Iron Age ditches and Roman wells • Roman ditches in parts of the area appear to have been part of substantial Roman vineyard complexes • Alluvium-covered buildings are present in part of the area, indicating flooding in the late Saxon and medieval periods • A flood bank was constructed to protect a settlement in around 1100 AD • Late Saxon or medieval ridge-and-furrow cultivation of the floodplain was flooded in the medieval period • It appears that the predominant morphology of at least part of the area has been an anastomosing (braided) channel system – with old, dissected, floodplain in between • This pattern of floodplain evolution is not unusual in lowland Britain, and has been described as the ‘stable bed/aggrading banks model’, involving a reduction in the number of small channels to offset the increase in size of other channels when flow is concentrated there as the floodplain surface aggrades • In one area the dominant processes of change have been channel siltation and floodplain alleviation, but not significant channel bed aggredation: implications include a larger, shallower area of water and more water edge (of value for fish and wildfowl), although it was contained in a smaller area of active floodplain • Islands of gravel existed, which were drier than at present, and have probably always been isolated from the valley sides by river channels, with little or no seasonal flooding during the bronze age • Detail is presented on vegetation communities that existed at different stages of landscape history Nearly the entire valley floor has been removed by gravel extraction, in most cases down to Lias clay There is little palaeoecological knowledge of the (Raunds) area other than for the floodplain Research on the wider region (south east Midlands) suggests that around 5000 years ago it was covered by mixed deciduous forest dominated by lime and oak These and other detailed findings from the literature are presented from various areas of the Nene Valley and combined with results of further pollen analysis of archived samples, with the following overall conclusions: • The deciphered landscape patterns are in line with the general pattern of dense Roman settlement locally and a fully utilised floodplain and surrounding slopes • Pressure on the Nene Valley from aggregate extraction will now decrease as remaining resources are few • There has been some local protest to further large-scale extraction in the area in the new Minerals Local Plan for Northamptonshire (‘Save the Nene 2006’), and this will be subject to strict archaeological conditions • Parts of the valley are now a series of lakes 50
• Archaeology in the area has produced a wealth of environmental data, which indicates that: • There were early partially cleared islands (partially cleared of woodland) as part of a ritual landscape • These were used and expanded in the Bronze Age • The floodplain and lower slopes were almost totally cleared in the Iron Age • An intensive arable-based landscape existed in the Iron Age, including farms, roads and fields • The Iron Age landscape was re-modelled in the Roman period, including creation of a vineyard • Intense land use continued in the post Roman-Saxon period, with modern boundaries and features emerging • There is probably no other valley in England where the landscape story is as well known as a result of aggregate extraction • Future extraction must facilitate further contextualisation and synthesis of environmental data on a site by site basis • This will be aided by the augmentation of the GIS system developed as part of this project and held by Northamptonshire County Council Impacts (Actual / Potential): While the study may be largely of archaeological interest, the history of the landscape that emerges from it provides a useful context against which to assess any minerals site restoration proposals. This is highly relevant as a large number of minerals sites exist in the valley, and the minerals resource there is now diminishing. While it may not be appropriate to restore to the ‘original’ forested landscape of pre-Bronze Age, features of the later, more modified landscape, such as hedgerows, may be relevant to restorations. Findings on the river’s original structure may likewise provide guidance on restoration techniques. The river was probably originally of a dynamic braided structure, with little continuous deep water, periodic flooding, some islands of drier gravel, and some shallow open water. Restoration to a similar structure would provide valuable habitat for a range of species, and be in keeping with the ‘natural’ state of the valley. While it would be impractical to restore the river entirely to this structure due to navigation needs, it may be possible to simulate it in some areas of the valley. Potential Expansion: Further archaeological study of the area is needed to fill in the gaps in knowledge identified in this project. As stated in the report, ‘future extraction must facilitate further contextualisation and synthesis of environmental data on a site by site basis. This will be aided by the augmentation of the GIS system developed as part of this project and held by Northamptonshire County Council.’ Dissemination: Information on dissemination of this report could not be obtained. Sustainable Aggregates Creating Environmental Improvements through Biodiversity THE POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE MINERAL EXTRACTION INDUSTRIES TO THE UK BIODIVERSITY ACTION PLAN (ENGLISH NATURE, QUARRY PRODUCTS ASSOCIATION, SILICA AND MOULDING SANDS ASSOCIATION – ENGLISH NATURE RESEARCH REPORT NO. 279) Richard Bate, Jennifer Bate (Green Balance), Christine Bradley, Hannah Peel, Janet Wilkinson (Applied Environmental Research Centre Ltd.) 1998 Project Type: Guidance for the minerals industry and English Nature on Biodiversity Action Plans (BAPs) 51
Page 1 and 2: THEME 3 - CREATING ENVIRONMENTAL IM
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS Executive summary 5 1. Int
Page 5 and 6: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report revie
Page 7 and 8: 1 INTRODUCTION This sub-theme provi
Page 9 and 10: 2 APPROACH TO REVIEW & SOURCES OF I
Page 11 and 12: SAMP 3B.8 TAL0040 Thompson, A.; How
Page 13 and 14: 3 BIODIVERSITY & MINERAL SITES 3.1
Page 15 and 16: and restored areas, can all be mana
Page 17 and 18: Sustainable Aggregates Creating Env
Page 19 and 20: ut should not necessarily be applie
Page 21 and 22: zones would appear inappropriate. R
Page 23 and 24: Commercial approaches can provide f
Page 25 and 26: 3.5 WORKING TOGETHER The importance
Page 27 and 28: It is preferable to integrate confl
Page 29 and 30: 3.6 BIODIVERSITY AND MINERAL SITES
Page 31 and 32: 4 GAPS IN KNOWLEDGE / DIRECTIONS FO
Page 33 and 34: 5 DISSEMINATION & IMPACT OF ALSF RE
Page 35 and 36: 6 CONCLUSIONS A number of common th
Page 37 and 38: Many site BAPs would benefit from i
Page 39 and 40: working and long-term management ar
Page 41 and 42: REFERENCES River Nene From its Sour
Page 43 and 44: publication copy (MIRO, NECESI, The
Page 45 and 46: Websites Holcim website Kahumbu and
Page 47 and 48: ANNEX 1 Summaries of ALSF-funded pa
Page 49: SYNTHETIC SURVEY OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Page 53 and 54: authorities, NGOs, local organisati
Page 55 and 56: Recommendation that a systematic me
Page 57 and 58: Recommendation to adopt a flexible
Page 59 and 60: Output: The advocacy report present
Page 61 and 62: Output: Provides a review consideri
Page 63 and 64: DEVELOPING POLICY AND BEST PRACTICE
Page 65 and 66: WATER-BASED QUARRY RESTORATION - OP
Page 67 and 68: SAFEGUARDING MINERAL EXTRACTION SIT
Page 69 and 70: candidates for restoration for biod
Page 71 and 72: Output: Description of SEA, and dif
Page 73 and 74: information and starting to underta
Page 75 and 76: organisations and funding bodies on
Page 77 and 78: Potential Expansion: Co-operation w
Page 79 and 80: estoration of aggregate sites. Stee
Page 81 and 82: free of charge to key stakeholders.
Page 83 and 84: EXTRACTING THE BEST FOR WILDLIFE -
Page 85 and 86: • That a simple methodology for m
Page 87 and 88: sites. Downloads have been recorded
Page 89 and 90: extended to work more with quarry o
Page 91 and 92: The review could be used to inform
Page 93 and 94: eminder to consider more local envi
Page 95 and 96: ANNEX 2 TROUT UNLIMITED’S ABANDON
Page 97 and 98: in 450 chapters. Partnership is int
Page 99 and 100: The training programmes cover the f
Page 101 and 102:
The Place: Clear Creek begins high
Page 103 and 104:
addition, the U.S Department of the
Page 105 and 106:
surface limestone deposits are over
Page 107 and 108:
and medicinal plots were planted fr
Page 109 and 110:
Long-Term Viability The company pos
Page 111 and 112:
In addition to providing economic b
Page 113 and 114:
Cementia later went into partnershi
Page 115 and 116:
The opening of restored quarries fo
Page 117 and 118:
intensification of the aquaculture
Page 119:
119 Sustainable Aggregates Creating
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