Securing Biodiversity in Breckland - European Commission

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Turf stripping has been effective in rejuvenating dwarf shrub heather vegetation from swardsdominated by purple moor grass Molinia caerulea and wavy-hair grass Deschampsia flexuosa inSurrey. Turf stripping has been shown to reduce the nutrient status of heathland soils (with reducedsoil organic matter and nitrogen mineralisation rates) in the Netherlands (Bernedse 1990). Forheathlands, almost all nitrogen entering the ecosystem accumulates and losses are small (Berendseet al. 1993). To balance inputs in the Netherlands, modelling and experimental data showed it wasnecessary to strip turf once every 22-33 years in order to retain dwarf shrub vegetation (Berendse etal. 1993).Turf stripping and surface scraping has produced good results, for example at East Wretham Heath,with regeneration of sheep fescue Festuca ovina, ling Calluna vulgaris and the lichen Cladonia furcatain mineral sand (Yaxley 2004). Trenching and sub-soiling has been used successfully in regenerationof Calluna at Brettenham Heath.At Weeting and Thetford Heaths, plots that had been repeatedly annually rotovated for 14 years and10 years respectively, had significantly less soil organic matter than surrounding untreated areas(Dolman and Sutherland 1992). During a subsequent period of low rabbit populations, vegetation intreated plots continued to support high quality calcareous lichen-rich grass-heath vegetation, withgreater abundance of bare ground, annuals and cushion forming mosses, compared to species-poortussocky grassland in surrounding untreated grass-heath (Dolman and Sutherland 1994). As aconsequence, a programme of annual rotovation has been implemented on plots at both sites; atWeeting Heath three plots have been rotovated annually since 1992/3 (18 years) and one additionallarger plot since 1997 (13 years); at Thetford Heath five plots have been rotovated annually since1992/3. Rotovation has been conducted in autumn or early-mid winter, to provide opportunities formineralisation and leaching of nitrogen during winter rainfall prior to summer evapo-transpirationdeficit. However the consequences of this long term management for soil nutrient qualities have notbeen assessed.On soils with greater organic matter content, vegetation can recover rapidly following rotovationtreatments. In such cases, ploughing may provide longer opportunities for leaching of mineralisednitrogen to occur, however understanding is unclear.On sites where vegetation closure following rotovation is not immediate, alternate rotovation of alarger number of plots on a two or three year cycle may benefit a wider spectrum of plant andinvertebrate species than annual rotovation, while still providing opportunities for leaching ofnitrogen.Recommendations: Nitrogen deposition is a significant pressure for Breckland grass-heath eco-systems.Management tools to mitigate nitrogen accumulation impacts are imperfectly understood,but the use of soil disturbance, turf stripping and encouraging high density rabbit populationsare possible approaches. Soil nutrient properties of annually rotovated plots should be assessed, in comparison withadjacent untreated control areas of similar basic soil type. Managers should examine resultsand consider whether these repeatedly rotovated plots should be continued further, or left tofallow and develop oligotrophic grass-heath while beginning soil disturbance management onnew plots.102
The relative effects of ploughing, rotovating and turf stripping on soil nutrient propertiesshould be investigated, across a range of soil types differing in pH and organic content. Thiscould first be explored by systematic review of available studies, but if insufficientinformation is available, it will be necessary to undertake experimental research and monitorsoil and leachate in replicated experimental trials.Current research commissioned by Natural England aimed at examining whether intensivelivestock and poultry units have had, or are having localised impacts on nearby grass-heathsites is not sufficient in design or sensitivity to show whether there is an effect. Furtherresearch is required, but this should include direct measurements of nitrogen deposition ratesas well as vegetation dynamics in both existing and experimentally manipulated swards (i.e.with manipulated Festuca-Deschampsia composition on mineral and organic soils).Trenching to create bank and calcareous exposureAt Little Heath andDeadman’s Gravetrenches were dug andthe removed materialwas immediately redepositedas a bank. Thisremoves the need fortransport of arisings,reducing costs andprovides free drainingcalcareous substrates.Monitoring would identifythe species that havebenefitted.Photographs © B. Nichols103
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Securing Biodiversityin BrecklandGu
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Commissioning GroupNeil Featherston
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Wind-blown sand guild .............
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milder winters and increased winter
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Creating broad ruderal and disturbe
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Introduction“Few of the lowland d
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Inland DunesThe 1km wide dune and b
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Following the Black Death of the mi
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The area of grass-heath declined by
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PingosPingos are ground water fed p
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Breckland Conservation and the Need
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SSSI. The Breckland Forest SSSI cit
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The Breckland Biodiversity Audit ha
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The Breckland bio-geographic region
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polygons of alternating calcareous
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quality calcareous fen communities
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Figure 2. The extent of Breckland,
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Table 3. Grass-heath vegetation in
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The Conservation Resource: Designat
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All other SSSIs are less than 600 h
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GrasslandHeathWoodlandWetlandFlowin
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Calcicolous grasslandsShingle, stra
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Figure 4. Location of designated si
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Figure 6. Location of Plantlife’s
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Figure 7. Locations of stations in
Page 51 and 52: Scheme for Stilt & Stalk Flies, Dra
Page 53 and 54: Table 6. Rare vascular plant specie
Page 55 and 56: Recommendation BTO be commissioned
Page 57 and 58: Table 7. Species for which records
Page 59 and 60: Table 8. Descriptions of Red Data B
Page 61 and 62: If the sub-species was designated b
Page 63 and 64: Collating and Synthesising Species
Page 65 and 66: Table 11. Published, documentary an
Page 67 and 68: Baron de Worms, C.G.M. (1953) Colle
Page 69 and 70: Guild AnalysisA number of habitat a
Page 71 and 72: The specific questions for the work
Page 73 and 74: Findings of the Breckland Biodivers
Page 75 and 76: Recording Effort and CoverageThere
Page 77 and 78: Butterfly Conservation (Suffolk) 17
Page 79 and 80: Norfolk Biodiversity InformationSer
Page 81 and 82: Figure 11. Number of taxonomic grou
Page 83 and 84: difference is partly attributable t
Page 85 and 86: There were Breckland specialist spe
Page 87 and 88: Figure 13. Proportion of Breckland
Page 89 and 90: Distribution of Breckland Conservat
Page 91 and 92: Figure 15. Number of Breckland cons
Page 93 and 94: Evidence of Climatic Change: Long-T
Page 95 and 96: Figure 17. Total seasonal precipita
Page 97 and 98: Biodiversity Implications of the Ch
Page 99 and 100: Ariel depositions to agricultural s
Page 101: the status of Deschampsia flexuosa.
Page 105 and 106: Trends in Species Status: Extinctio
Page 107 and 108: HymenopteraHymenopteraHymenopteraCo
Page 109 and 110: In addition to the loss of rare lic
Page 111 and 112: edstraw Galium parisiense (Tansley
Page 113 and 114: The relative extent of lichen rich
Page 115 and 116: The Feasibility and Usefulness of t
Page 117 and 118: Across patch arrangementLandscape c
Page 119 and 120: Across patcharrangementJuxtapositio
Page 121 and 122: Delivery of Multiple Species by Int
Page 125 and 126: Mechanical disturbance to create br
Page 129 and 130: estricted to road verges, with the
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Page 133 and 134: Records of species from this guild
Page 135 and 136: © Jeremy Earlywww.natureconservati
Page 139 and 140: Open with sward mosaics guildChryso
Page 141 and 142: Grazing without physical disturbanc
Page 143 and 144: Deadwood in an open-woodland ecoton
Page 145 and 146: Specific Requirement in a Variety o
Page 147 and 148: Management to Sustain Dry Terrestri
Page 149 and 150: Heather should rather be considered
Page 151 and 152: GrazingrequirementsLightly sheep-gr
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a mosaic of overlapping ploughed, a
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Wind-blown sandThere is great uncer
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IntensityProcess Technique Immediat
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Complex Sward MosaicsComplex sward
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Management for Assemblages of Light
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Management for Species of Physicall
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Key Recommendations for Cultivated
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Shallow cultivation is preferable t
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Maidscross Hill is largely overgrow
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Ecological Requirements of Wetland
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numbers of conservation priority sp
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Recommendation Requirements of wetl
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Figure 31. Number of Breckland cons
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Restored pingo complexAt Great Hock
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Figure 32. Number of Breckland cons
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the difficulties of achieving this
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Strategic Challenges to Biodiversit
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Table 22. Problems arising from poo
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Recommendation: Natural England and
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It is therefore vital to carefully
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Creating networks for resilienceTo
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More ambitious possibilities that c
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Figure 34. Example of a potential c
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Connectivity networks© Neal Armour
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and consider whether these repeated
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Ensure that scrub removal, ploughin
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ReferencesADAS. (1997) Biological M
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Haes, E. C. M. & Harding, P. T. (19
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Sastre, B.(2003). Ground spider com
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Securing Biodiversity in Breckland - European Commission

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