Habitat Management

Environmental Studies

Objectives

• To look at the range of options available to protect or encourage species in the wild.

Habitat ManagementNational and Local Nature Reserves and protected areas are used to prevent disturbance or damage to an existing habitat.

– Studland Heath NNR, – Winterton Dunes NNR, – Minsmere RSPB reserve, – Slimbridge WWT reserve Gloucestershire, – Loch Garten RSPB reserve Scotland

•National Parks in many countries outside UK – Masai Mara, Kenya; – Serengeti, Tanzania; – Great Barrier reef, Australia

Habitat Management

• We can maintain a habitat by counteracting undesirable change

– ecological succession will occur when a new species is introduced.– Culling or removal of dominant or introduced predators

and competitors allows the original wildlife back.• removal of rhododendron and bracken from heathland and

moorland• removal of willow carr woodland on Catfield fen, Norfolk, to

encourage swallowtail butterflies• removal of invasive scrub from Magdalen Hill Down,

Hampshire, for butterfly conservation: – Brown argus, – Green hairstreak, – Chalk-hill blue

Magdalen Hill Down

• Years ago, the hillside was a paradise of wild flowers and butterflies. But by 1989 there was a heavy growth of wild privet, dogwood, bramble and hawthorn, which threatened the delicate flowers and the butterflies that depend on them.

• The scrub has now been cleared and is kept under control: only selected thickets are retained to give shelter and provide a habitat for birds and other creatures. Many shrubs and trees are the larval food plants for moths.

Habitat Management

• We can increase an areas wildlife value by making the conditions more suitable for the desired species

– providing bird/bat boxes, – raising the water table in a wetland habitat, – Increasing habitat diversity,– biological corridors such as hedgerows

Habitat Management

To restore valuable damaged habitats• Biodiversity Action Plans provide multi-agency, coordinated

approach to species conservation.

-www.ukbap.org.uk

-www.bucksinfo.net/wildlife/biodiversity-action-plan/

Habitat Management

Habitat creation• Altering an unsuitable habitat so that the

desired species can survive there– woodland planting, – pond creation – Wetlands

– www.afterminerals.com• Case study• Manor farm

Key Terms

UK Designations

Environmental Studies

Conservation in the UK

The government has organisations such as Natural England and the Countryside Council for Wales which are in charge of protecting sites of ecological importance and which contain endangered species.

Site Designations

1. SSSI, Site Specific Scientific Interest2. NNR, National Nature Reserve3. LNR Local Nature Reserve4. MNR, Marine Nature Reserves5. ESA Environmentally Sensitive Areas6. SPA, Special Protection Area7. SAC, Special Areas of Conservation8. Ramsar Site, marine

UK Designations

Designation of a protected area restricts the damaging activities which may take place.

Many areas have multiple designations to give additional or different types of protection.)

1. Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs)Areas of particular interest because of their plants, animals, geographical or geological features. – e.g. Bure Marshes, Norfolk

Bure Marshes, Norfolk

2. National Nature Reserves (NNR)

Usually SSSIs which are good examples of important habitats with complete communities of species.– e.g. Studland Heath, Dorset

3. Local Nature Reserves (LNR)– Owned or controlled by local authorities for the

benefit of wildlife and the public

4. Marine Nature Reserve (MNR)– e.g. Lundy Island, Skomer

5. Environmentally Sensitive Areas

• The Environmentally Sensitive Areas Scheme was introduced in 1987 to offer incentives to encourage farmers to adopt agricultural practices which would safeguard and enhance parts of the country of particularly high landscape, wildlife or historic value.

• It has since been replaced with the Environmental Stewardship Scheme (ESS).

International Designations6. Special Protection Areas (SPAs)• as a result of the EU Birds Directive.

– The Solent, – Exe Estuary, – Parts of the Bristol Channel, – Humber Estuary

7. Special Areas of Conservation (SACs)

As a result of the EU Habitats Directive.-Forest Mires in the New Forest

8. Ramsar sites• Wetlands of international

importance. – eg Minsmere RSPB

reserve, – Exe Estuary

Ramsar Sites -The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, Especially as Waterfowl Habitats (The Ramsar Convention) is an intergovernmental treaty that aims to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future.

D

B

C

E

Conservation in the UK

Environmental Studies

Mouse Eared Bat

Burbot

Essex Emerald Moth

Summer lady's tresses

Species Extinct in UKMouse-eared bat, (1990)

Essex emerald moth, (1991 - extinct in the wild)

Ivell's sea anemone, (1983)

Norfolk damselfly, (1957)

Burbot, (1972)

Horned dung beetle, (1955)

Summer lady's tresses, (1959)

Species Recovery Programme

A programme run by Natural England to conserve particular endangered species, examples include:

• dormouse, • greater horseshoe bat, • red squirrel, • skylark, • red kite, • lady’s slipper orchid

Species Recovery Programme

• Traditionally, species conservation centred on maintaining plants and animals by legal protection and general habitat management.

• The Species Recovery Programme extends the 'traditional' approach by identifying and actively targeting the needs of individual plants and animals, and encouraging practical action that ensures a rapid progression from planning to management trials of both species and habitat.

Species Recovery Programme

• New ways have been found to boost species populations by moving some animals and plants from large established populations to restored habitats elsewhere, or through re-introductions using captive bred animals and propagated plants.

Species Recovery ProgrammeThe Species Recovery Programme follows five action steps, each supported by research and monitoring. The final step is reached when the populations of the targeted animal or plant are judged sufficiently recovered to be maintained by good habitat management practice.

Agri-environmental schemes

Environmental Studies

Agri-environmental schemes

Agri environmental systems provide financial support to farmers to reward and encourage environmentally beneficial development.

The Environmental Stewardship Scheme (ESS) is an example of an agri-environmental scheme.

The scheme is run by Natural England

Environmental Stewardship Scheme

Aims:– Conserve wildlife (biodiversity)– Maintain and enhance landscape quality and

character– Protect the historic environment– Promote public access and understanding– Protect natural resources

Three options within the ESS:

1. Entry Level StewardshipA fixed payment is made for environmentally beneficial management

– over-wintering stubbles, – beetle banks, – hedgerow stone wall and ditch management, – field buffer strips, – wild bird seeds, – low input grasslands, – protected archaeological sites, – reduced soil erosion, – protection of in-field trees

Beetle bank - winterThis is a raised bank that runs across an arable field. The bank is made by ploughing and is planted with perennial tussock-forming grasses. It improves the natural biological control of cereal aphids. Aphids can build up in such numbers that spraying with an insecticide is necessary to prevent yield loss. Beetle banks are home to ground beetles which feed in the cereal crop and control the invading aphids. Farmers who have beetle banks rarely need to use summer insecticides.

Summer Time

Pollen Nectar Mix

Field Margin

Entry Level Stewardship

• Anyone who owns, farms or manages agricultural land can apply to take out an Entry Level Stewardship agreement.

• Each option carries a points score,– per hectare (e.g. grassland management), – per metre (e.g. hedgerow management)– per feature (e.g. in-field trees).

• If the farm receives enough points then it can be included in the scheme. All agreements are paid at a flat rate of £30 per hectare per year, and last 5 years.

Organic Entry Level Stewardship

Similar to Entry Level Stewardship but with a higher payment level.

Farms can receive money for both OELS and ELS.

Higher Level StewardshipExtra payments for more complex management or projects– flower-rich grass margins, – unharvested conservation field headlands for winter bird food, – restoration of wet grassland for waders and wildfowl, – water meadow restoration,– maintenance or restoration of

– sand dunes, – hedgerows, – moorland, – traditional orchards, – ponds, – woodlands,

Conservation Headland

DEFRA

Environmental Studies

DEFRA – Department for Environment, food

and rural affairs

Defra's overarching aim is sustainable development.• There are 5 priorities

– Climate change and energy. – Sustainable consumption and production– Protecting the countryside and natural resource

protection. – Sustainable rural communities. – A sustainable farming and food sector including animal

health and welfare.

Voluntary Organisations

Environmental Studies

Voluntary organisations

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)• Public awareness raising, lobbying industry

and governments, education, funding for environmental projects

• http://wwf.org.uk/what_we_do/changing_the_way_we_live/index.cfm

RSPBRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds• Public awareness raising, lobbying industry and governments,

education, reserve purchase management.

• Research grants to fund other conservation organisations, joint activities with other conservation organisations.

• Bird conservation is the focus of activities but broader issues are covered.

UK Habitats

Environmental Studies

UK HabitatsIntroduction to UK habitats• Most important wildlife habitats in the UK are semi-natural

and have been affected by human activities.

• Many are plagioclimaxes (an area or habitat in which the influences of the human race, have prevented the system from expanding further.

• Long-term management has produced communities of wildlife species that thrive as long as the management practices are maintained.

• Eg Studland Heath in Dorset

What would happen if humans were not here?

Natural Succession

Management Practices

Farming:• Grazing - wildflowers

that survive as grazing controls taller plants.

Humans undertake management practices that benefit other organisms, either directly or indirectly.

Management PracticesFarming

• Field boundary maintenance - hedges act as biological corridors for dormice; hawthorn berries provide food for Redwings

Management PracticesHunting and fishing

Hunting and fishing:• Maintenance of cover - small woodlands which provide cover

for pheasants have dead wood in which woodpeckers find food.

Management PracticesFarming

• Moorland and Heathland burning – – The objective of burning is to maintain vegetation

with enough nutritional value for grazing animals and to create arable land.

Red grouse and silver-studded blue butterflies feed on young heather

Woodland management

• Coppicing and Pollarding. – Regular cutting of areas in a cycle increases

habitat diversity.

Coppicing

Pollarding

Coppicing and PollardingFarming

– After cutting, the increased light allows existing woodland-floor vegetation such as bluebell and primrose to grow vigorously.

– The open area is then colonised by many different animals such as butterflies. As the coup grows up, the canopy closes and it becomes unsuitable for these animals again – but in an actively managed coppice there is always another recently cut coup nearby, and the populations therefore move around, following the coppice management.

Minsmere RSPB reserve, Suffolk.• Rationale for wildlife conservation• Species inter-dependence• Problems caused by introduced species• Eradication of competitors• Legal protection of habitats and species• Captive breeding and release programmes• Habitat management, especially plagioclimaxes• The role of Governmental and Voluntary

organisations

Threatened Habitats in the UK

Environmental Studies

Threatened Habitats in the UK

There are many activities and land-use changes which threaten the natural and traditional habitats and landscapes.

There are two main reasons for this threat• Habitat Destruction• Changes in Management Practice

Habitat Destruction

Habitat destruction which changes land use.• Urban expansion, • Wetland drainage to create farmland, • Quarrying, • Flooding to create reservoirs

2. Management Practices

There can be a change in Management practice

•Intensification of agriculture: • removal of hedgerows, • use of pesticides, • Increased drainage, • use of fertilizers,

•Abandoned coppiced woodland, •Ungrazed grassland

EXAMPLESThreatened Habitats

Broadleaf woodland

– The climax community for most of UK.

• Ploughing of pasture change from broadleaf to conifer plantations.

• deforestation for agriculture/urban expansion.

• Loss of species diversity and

wide age structure through commercial management.

Wetlands– Areas of shallow open water, marshes and bogs.

• eg drainage for farmland, urban developments or as a result of aquifer over- exploitation

– Peat bogs exploited for garden soil conditioner

Heathland– Infertile sand/gravel

soils.• eg urban expansion,

conifer plantations, golf courses

Hedgerows

– Field boundaries (relict woodland or deliberately planted).

• Removal for field enlargement, road widening.

• Replaced with fences• Lower/thinner to reduce

maintenance costs

Chalk Grassland– Dry, shallow, alkaline

soils.

Converted to • arable• conifer plantations• reduced grazing allowing

scrub encroachment

Hay Meadows

– Grasslands harvested for livestock feed after annual wildflowers have produced seed.

Land can be ‘improved’ by use of fertilisers, weedkillers and cutting for silage.

Coastal Habitats

– Estuaries, sand-dunes, beaches, rocky shores.

Damaged by• Port developments • Recreation and tourism• Coastal defences• Sewage• Oil and industrial pollutants

Conservation Abroad

Environmental Studies

Conservation Abroad

You should have brief knowledge of–the main ecological features, –importance to humans, –threats–conservation efforts

for the following ecosystems–Tropical Rainforests–Coral Reef–Antarctica

Tropical Rainforest

Main ecological featuresHigh productivity and biodiversity, climatic

stability.

Importance to humans• Timber, wildlife conservation, medicines,

climate control, carbon sequestration, soil conservation, catchment management, indigenous peoples.

Threats• Agricultural expansion, unsustainable

timber exploitation, mineral extraction, HEP schemes, climate change

Conservation efforts• Protected areas

– Korup rainforest, Cameroon; – Rio Bravo rainforest Belize

• Sustainable management• Certified by the Forest Stewardship

Council (FSC) and Smartwood– eg Selective logging, replanting with

native species, seed trees left

Coral ReefMain ecological features• Coral polyps with symbiotic algae requiring warm, clear,

shallow water with high light levels and constant salinity.

Importance to humans• Wildlife conservation, fisheries, coastal erosion protection,

medicines, tourism.

Threats• eg physical damage by anchors, rubbish, swimmers and

divers;• unsustainable fishing – overfishing, dynamite, cyanide;• coral souvenirs;• increase in suspended sediment from soil erosion on land

and dredging;• climate change causing raised temperatures, sea-level rise

and ‘bleaching’;• pollution, eg oil, pesticides, fertilisers, litter.

Conservation efforts• Protected areas

– eg Great Barrier Reef National Park, Australia• Management practices• eg Fixed mooring buoys, anchoring ban, diver education,

fishing controls, control of• agriculture – soil erosion, agrochemicals, ban on coral

removal

AntarcticaMain features• Large landmass with unique climate and seasonal changes, surrounded by highly

productive ocean.

Importance to humans• Wildlife conservation, symbolic importance to humans as ‘the last unspoilt

continent’.

Threats• Climate change, uncontrolled tourism, litter, oil pollution, overfishing, whaling,

mineral exploitation

Conservation efforts• Antarctic Treaty• No territorial claims recognised• No resource exploitation• No military activities• Waste removal• Tourism controls