Securing Biodiversity in Breckland - European Commission

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and staphylinids but also other groups of Coleoptera, as well as Hemiptera, Lepidoptera andHymenoptera)Work should investigate whether cultivation every 2-3-4 years is preferable to someinvertebrate and plant species, compared to annual cultivation.Examine the relative merits of different cultivation types and timings, together with differentherbicide regimes, to manage for priority species of plants and invertebrates on Brecklandcultivated margins. Work should include long established non-rotational margins (establishedunder the ESA), together with newer rotational and non-rotational marginsReview the success and apparent value of current ESA field margin agreements and wherethese appear to have provided benefits make every effort to secure transition to ES. In viewof uncertainty over the response of invertebrates to habitats, the presumption should be thatany open vegetation with a diversity of annual plants is beneficial.ES advisers should recognise the benefits of cultivated margin prescriptions that should beseen as the key mechanism for biodiversity delivery in Breckland farmland.Implement ES cultivated margin agreements as predominately non- rotational.Research should be conducted to examine whether annual cultivation of arable margins (e.g.as in cultivated margin prescriptions) or other ruderal habitats (e.g. recreated brecks withinForestry Landscape) gives similar outcomes to prescriptions or management with low densityunsprayed spring cereal crop. Effects should be studied on the plant and invertebrate speciespopulations and assemblages sustained and the seed bank densities achieved.Examine the feasibility of applying large-scale cultivation treatments to the ageing grassheathresource in STANTA, with the aim of rejuvenating brecks that have not been cultivatedfor 68+ years.Management of the heaths Juxtaposition of cultivated margins alongside grass strips, either already in place inpermanent grassland, hedge-banks, along pine lines and track-ways, or created through ESoptions, could bring enhanced benefits. Graze hard. Grazing should not be constrained by the presence of heather The overwhelming importance of physical disturbance to very large numbers of Brecklandconservation priority species must be recognised and acted upon if this biodiversity is tothrive. Survey and monitoring be urgently undertaken at as many mechanically disturbed plots aspossible, to cover key invertebrate groups as well as vascular plants. This will provideevidence to guide and inform future management. Ensure database of disturbance plots is kept up to date Work should examine whether the nutrient status of sandy soils unmodified by agriculturalinputs, results in more open vegetation and slower closure, allowing longer intervals betweenrepeat cultivations. Research work should be conducted to examine whether populations of rare vascular plantsrestricted (or largely restricted) to Breckland can be sustainably managed by a regime ofintermittent cultivation on soils of suitably low nutrient status. Ideally, a range of cultivationfrequency and fallow periods should be examined, across a range of soil types, focusing onthe most calcareous sands and most acidic low nutrient status soils. The response of thesepopulations in cultivated situations with and without sowing of cereal crops should beexamined.202
Ensure that scrub removal, ploughing, turf removal, and creation of steep open exposureswithin pits is carried out at key sites of former gravel working on Maidscross Hill.The status and condition of remaining conservation resource at Red Lodge be examined, andrequired action be taken to ensure continuing conditions for the valuable species of disturbedground.Wetland management Requirements of wetland species are less well understood and frequently more complex, withmore ecological processes and habitat variables to be considered. Improvements are neededin the knowledge of the species and in the assessment of guilds. The relative importance of wetland assemblages that occur in different landscape elementsshould be investigated, e.g. associations with pingo systems, calcareous flushed valley-headmires, fen remnants along river valley margins, fens at the Breckland/Fen margin. Resources permitting, the majority of each significant fen, wetland, pingo and mere siteshould be predominantly cleared of woody vegetation, while retaining some wet woodlandresource. The ratio of RDB species between the open and shaded habitats suggests thatperhaps a maximum of 10% - 20% of a site should be wooded. The appropriate management and restoration of pingo sites should remain a priority for thetargeting of funding of Environmental Stewardship, on both SSSIs and County Wildlife Sites.Consideration should be given to notifying as CWS any significant pingo sites that arecurrently undesignated in order to aid this targeting. A range of vegetation structures should be maintained around margins and within the waterbody of pingos. Grazing regimes, and the use of mechanical means, need to be flexible toachieve this. Some pingo sites, and units of sites within larger grazed complexes, should be maintainedwithout grazing, or with only very light grazing. A strategic review should be conducted to examine the status and management of wetlandcomplexes across Breckland, particularly at fen sites and fluctuating water bodies. Progress towards the strategic priorities for river valleys and wetlands of Breckland, identifiedby the Brecks Workshop Report (Perkin and Norden 2007) should be reviewed.203
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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
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If the sub-species was designated b
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Collating and Synthesising Species
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Table 11. Published, documentary an
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Baron de Worms, C.G.M. (1953) Colle
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Guild AnalysisA number of habitat a
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The specific questions for the work
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Findings of the Breckland Biodivers
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Recording Effort and CoverageThere
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Butterfly Conservation (Suffolk) 17
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Norfolk Biodiversity InformationSer
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Figure 11. Number of taxonomic grou
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difference is partly attributable t
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There were Breckland specialist spe
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Figure 13. Proportion of Breckland
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Distribution of Breckland Conservat
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Figure 15. Number of Breckland cons
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Evidence of Climatic Change: Long-T
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Figure 17. Total seasonal precipita
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Biodiversity Implications of the Ch
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Ariel depositions to agricultural s
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the status of Deschampsia flexuosa.
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The relative effects of ploughing,
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Trends in Species Status: Extinctio
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HymenopteraHymenopteraHymenopteraCo
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In addition to the loss of rare lic
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edstraw Galium parisiense (Tansley
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The relative extent of lichen rich
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The Feasibility and Usefulness of t
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Across patch arrangementLandscape c
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Across patcharrangementJuxtapositio
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Delivery of Multiple Species by Int
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Mechanical disturbance to create br
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estricted to road verges, with the
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Records of species from this guild
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© Jeremy Earlywww.natureconservati
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Open with sward mosaics guildChryso
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Grazing without physical disturbanc
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Deadwood in an open-woodland ecoton
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Specific Requirement in a Variety o
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Management to Sustain Dry Terrestri
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Heather should rather be considered
Page 151 and 152: GrazingrequirementsLightly sheep-gr
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Page 155 and 156: Wind-blown sandThere is great uncer
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Page 159 and 160: Complex Sward MosaicsComplex sward
Page 161 and 162: Management for Assemblages of Light
Page 163 and 164: Management for Species of Physicall
Page 165 and 166: Key Recommendations for Cultivated
Page 167 and 168: Shallow cultivation is preferable t
Page 169 and 170: Maidscross Hill is largely overgrow
Page 171 and 172: Ecological Requirements of Wetland
Page 173 and 174: numbers of conservation priority sp
Page 175 and 176: Recommendation Requirements of wetl
Page 177 and 178: Figure 31. Number of Breckland cons
Page 179 and 180: Restored pingo complexAt Great Hock
Page 181 and 182: Figure 32. Number of Breckland cons
Page 183 and 184: the difficulties of achieving this
Page 185 and 186: Strategic Challenges to Biodiversit
Page 187 and 188: Table 22. Problems arising from poo
Page 189 and 190: Recommendation: Natural England and
Page 191 and 192: It is therefore vital to carefully
Page 193 and 194: Creating networks for resilienceTo
Page 195 and 196: More ambitious possibilities that c
Page 197 and 198: Figure 34. Example of a potential c
Page 199 and 200: Connectivity networks© Neal Armour
Page 201: and consider whether these repeated
Page 205 and 206: ReferencesADAS. (1997) Biological M
Page 207 and 208: Haes, E. C. M. & Harding, P. T. (19
Page 209 and 210: Sastre, B.(2003). Ground spider com
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Securing Biodiversity in Breckland - European Commission

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