Securing Biodiversity in Breckland - European Commission

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Period Source of information Change in grass-heath1940s to1970s1981 to19891990s to2007calcareous grass-heath vegetationplant species composition dataexamined by Rodwell (1992)Repeat survey of grass-heathsurveyed seven years earlier (seeDolman and Sutherland 1992)Qualitative perception of changefrom land managers (Perkin andNorden 2007) Became grassier Mesic grass species increased in frequency Annuals became rarer Bryophytes and lichens were reduced inabundance and diversity Became grassier Annuals became rarer Lichens and cushion forming mosses becamerarer Became grassier Broken turf was rarerCompared to detailed surveying of key areas of lichen heath in 1989 (Dolman and Sutherland 1992),recent (2009) inspection (e.g. at Foxhole Heath) suggests sites have undergone gradual succession tolate-stage closed lichen mats (e.g. comprising Cladonia arbuscula. C. portentosa, C. furcata). Theearliest successional stages, characterised by the lichen Cornicularia aculeata and the mossPolytrichum pilulifera and a high diversity of lichens such as Cladonia uncialis and Cladonia gracilisappear to be much harder to find at sites such as Icklingham Plains and Wangford Warren than theywere twenty years ago. For example, an extensive area of lichen heath on Horn Heath surveyed inthe mid-1990s (P. Dolman and S. Lake) has now all but disappeared (B. Nichols pers. comm.).A major survey of the condition of remaining heathland resource, “The Grass-heaths Assessment” iscurrently being undertaken by the RSPB and Natural England. This will assess the current andpotential extent of conditions suitable for breeding stone curlew. The data will provide an invaluablebroad assessment of site conditions and vegetation structures, in terms of sward heights, andavailability of bare ground conditions.Recommendations:Given concerns and uncertainties regarding long term changes and the relative condition ofremaining grass-heaths, the following are recommended: Available quantitative data for vegetation species composition at known sites could becollated and analysed to examine trends in species composition. Data used could include thatof Watt's surveys, data considered by Rodwell, data collected by P. Dolman in 1989, NVCsurveys of chalk grassland commissioned by English Nature in 1992, more recent SSSIcondition assessment species lists held on file by Natural England. Trends could be comparedamong sites with different combinations of sheep and rabbit grazing to examine correlates ofchange. As all sites are subject to nitrogen deposition, evidence could be qualitativelyexamined to see if trends are consistent with predicted impacts of nitrogen eutrophication, asno sites have escaped deposition conclusive proof of cause and effect could not be obtained. A field based survey and audit of the acidic grass-heath could be conducted to examine theextent and successional status of the remaining resource, in order to guide priorities formanagement.112
The relative extent of lichen rich and ephemeral / therophyte rich NVC sub-communitiescompared to grass and herb-rich NVC sub-communities (including mesic vegetation withHolcus, Anthoxanthum and Trisetum), compared to Deschampsia dominated subcommunitiesbe assessed across a suite of Breckland grass-heaths, considering both theacidiphilous and calcareous resource. This may be possible using data held by NaturalEngland, or may require commissioning of field based surveys.Ecological Requirements of Breckland Biodiversity: Broad Habitat AssociationsThe majority of species (85%) were not unique to a single broad habitat type(Table 20). Furthermore,many species were found to be associated with habitats that do not occur in Breckland, e.g. 60species, including two unique species, were associated with saltmarsh. This highlights the need toassess the requirements of conservation priority species in terms of micro-habitats and processesrather than broad habitats.The largest numbers of species were associated with broadleaved woodland (689 species) andcalcareous grassland (583 species) and these habitats also had the largest numbers of species uniqueto them, broadleaved woodland (89 species) and calcareous grassland (62 species). Only 19 specieswere unique to lowland heath (Table 20) but 14 were unique to coniferous woodland. The fewestnumber of species were associated with reliant on mammal burrows (24 species) and carrion (31).A large number of species had requirements for detritus and leaf litter (263 species) and occurred inall broad habitat types. Dung and carrion associated species were also found in almost all habitats.Breckland specialists were associated with almost all habitats, with the exception of moorland andmammal burrows, with the most species occurring in calcareous grassland and lowland heath (Table20).113
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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
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Scheme for Stilt & Stalk Flies, Dra
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Table 6. Rare vascular plant specie
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Recommendation BTO be commissioned
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Table 7. Species for which records
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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 and 102: the status of Deschampsia flexuosa.
Page 103 and 104: The relative effects of ploughing,
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: edstraw Galium parisiense (Tansley
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
Page 153 and 154: a mosaic of overlapping ploughed, a
Page 155 and 156: Wind-blown sandThere is great uncer
Page 157 and 158: IntensityProcess Technique Immediat
Page 159 and 160: Complex Sward MosaicsComplex sward
Page 161 and 162: 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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