Securing Biodiversity in Breckland - European Commission

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Executive SummaryAn innovative approach to evidence based conservationThe Breckland Biodiversity Audit (BBA) has developed an innovative, landscape-scale and evidencebasedapproach to strategic delivery of biodiversity. It provides a working example of theimplementation of an integrated approach to biodiversity delivery in a region. The BBA is foundedon a broad partnership of stakeholders, and harnessed the expertise, knowledge and recordingeffort of very large numbers of amateur naturalists, without whom this project would not havebeen possible. Their collective endeavours provide a working example of civil society in biodiversitydelivery.The BBA identified priority species for conservation in Breckland, including large numbers ofBAP, RDB and range-restricted species.A key element has been to develop an evidence-based approach to understanding therequirements of these priority species and providing guidelines for their conservation.Ecological requirements of priority species for conservation in Breckland have been collated,and synthesised, integrating across numerous individual priority species to producemanagement guidance for multi-species assemblages.Biological recording in BrecklandThe BBA collated and examined over 800,000 species records, but highlighted a lack of integrationinto the planning system among national, regional and taxonomically based recording schemes.As well as relatively well-known groups such as vascular plants, moths and carabids informationwas also collated for araneae, diptera, hemiptera, hymenoptera, molluscs, lichens and fungi andother groups.Mapped recording effort at a 1km x 1km scale showed: Designated heathland and pingo sites are well covered. Distribution data in and across arable and forested landscapes are patchy and taxonomicallybiased, and further survey is needed in these areas.Breckland is of major importance to biodiversity within the UKThe BBA has demonstrated the outstanding importance of Breckland for UK biodiversity. We haveestablished that: At least 12,845 species have been recorded from Breckland. Of these, 2,149 are priority species for conservation in Breckland, many more thanpreviously realised. 28% of all the priority BAP species in the UK occur in Breckland. 72 species have their UK distribution restricted to or have a primary stronghold inBreckland. Although Breckland has long been recognised for its distinctive biodiversity, thisis the first time that the number of regional specialist species has been quantified.There have been worrying extinctions and recent declines in some priority speciesRemaining habitat is fragmented, species are isolated in small sites, and the landscape is hostile todispersal among these. Climate is demonstrated as already changing, with a loss of continentality,6
milder winters and increased winter rainfall in recent decades. Nitrogen deposition is a severethreat, semi-natural habitats have received 1-2 tonnes of Nitrogen per ha over the last century. 15 species previously recorded in Breckland are believed to be extinct in the UK or England The BBA collated recent records for 10 other species considered to be extinct nationally,giving hope that these may survive in Breckland. These now need urgent survey to confirmtheir status. A further 25 species are thought to have been lost from the region (locally extirpated)although they persist elsewhere in the UK. For seven well monitored vascular plant taxa restricted to Breckland, more than half of thepopulations (54%) have been lost (since 1985).The ecological requirements of priority biodiversity The BBA analysed the ecological requirements of the 2,000+ priority species forconservation in Breckland to provide management guidance for their conservation. The BBA has confirmed the importance of intensively grazed and physically disturbedhabitats, as previously recognised. However, more priority species for conservation in Breckland depend on physicallydisturbed conditions in an ungrazed (or only lightly-grazed) context. These should beprimarily conserved on farmland, on brown field sites, in the forest landscape and in largeextensive heathland complexes. Species of physically disturbed and ungrazed conditionswere significantly more likely to be considered extinct, than other priority species. Approaches to management have been too homogenous. Many species require structuralcomplexity, including mosaics of different sward structure, juxtaposition of bare disturbedsoil with intact swards, juxtaposition of grazed and ungrazed elements, or patches ofscattered scrub in open habitats. Rare species of woodland, veteran trees and dead wood also occur in Breckland. Open standing water, littoral margins and open fen habitats are vitally important toBreckland biodiversity and support many more priority species than shaded wetlandhabitats (e.g. damp/wet woodland). Different priority species were associated with grazedand ungrazed fen conditions and a range of vegetation structures is required.The effectiveness of BAP species as figureheads to deliver wider benefits for priority biodiversityA large proportion of the guilds were represented by one or more figurehead priority BAP species.Overall, a series of habitat based prescriptions constructed on the basis of understanding therequirements of BAP species would provide conditions for the majority of priority species.However, there are notable exceptions, with a few specialist groups of species poorly representedby BAP figurehead species, particularly wetland species associated with deadwood or detritus, anddry terrestrial species associated with deadwood in open woodland or scrub mosaics.The extent to which the known distribution of BAP species represents site priorities for theirrepresentative guilds requires investigation, but is likely to be congruent.Current conservation management is not sufficient to support priority biodiversityRecently fallowed brecks have been virtually entirely absent from the Breckland landscape for thelast sixty years. The resource of early successional breck vegetation has aged, accumulating organicmatter, nutrients and favouring closed sward vegetation.7
Page 1 and 2: Securing Biodiversityin BrecklandGu
Page 3 and 4: Commissioning GroupNeil Featherston
Page 5: Wind-blown sand guild .............
Page 9 and 10: Creating broad ruderal and disturbe
Page 11 and 12: Introduction“Few of the lowland d
Page 13 and 14: Inland DunesThe 1km wide dune and b
Page 15 and 16: Following the Black Death of the mi
Page 17 and 18: The area of grass-heath declined by
Page 19 and 20: PingosPingos are ground water fed p
Page 21 and 22: Breckland Conservation and the Need
Page 23 and 24: SSSI. The Breckland Forest SSSI cit
Page 25 and 26: The Breckland Biodiversity Audit ha
Page 27 and 28: The Breckland bio-geographic region
Page 29 and 30: polygons of alternating calcareous
Page 31 and 32: quality calcareous fen communities
Page 33 and 34: Figure 2. The extent of Breckland,
Page 35 and 36: Table 3. Grass-heath vegetation in
Page 37 and 38: The Conservation Resource: Designat
Page 39 and 40: All other SSSIs are less than 600 h
Page 41 and 42: GrasslandHeathWoodlandWetlandFlowin
Page 43 and 44: Calcicolous grasslandsShingle, stra
Page 45 and 46: Figure 4. Location of designated si
Page 47 and 48: Figure 6. Location of Plantlife’s
Page 49 and 50: 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
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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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131
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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
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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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Restored pingo complexAt Great Hock
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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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