Transcript Mosaic Approach - Lowland Heathland

The
LOWLAND HEATHLAND
Approach
Key elements
•Shelter
•Bare ground and
early-succession habitats
•Flower-rich habitats
133 priority species are associated with lowland heathland in
England. However, there are very few that actually require
ericaceous shrubs to complete their lifecycles. It is important,
therefore, to consider the factors, such as disturbance, that
produce the other habitat elements listed on the left.
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•Scrub and scattered trees
•Temporary water
•Ericaceous shrubs
•Ecotones
•Large-scale mosaic
Management guides for this habitat
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Shelter
Shelter can be a difficult element to assess. However,
sheltered sites are generally those that are open to
direct sunlight but protected from excess wind by the
topography or vegetation. Species requiring shelter are
often found in bays of scrub, against a woodland edge or
cliff face, or on sloping ground.
South-facing slopes, and semi-circular bays of vegetation
(such as a scalloped woodland edge adjoining heathland)
open to the south, can be especially important.
Key determining factors:
•Topography
•Succession - scrub development
•Disturbance – grazing; scrub and tree
management.
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Photograph: Isabel Alonso
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Shelter – associated priority species
61% of priority species on heathland are associated
with shelter. Examples, with their requirements,
are:
- structurally diverse habitat; dense
heather; bare sand (egg laying) in a sheltered
location close to vegetation.
•Hazel pot beetle - scrub in short grassland or
heathland; young birch and hazel; shelter; low
boughs; south-facing sites; hedgerows.
- sparse sward and bare ground in a
mosaic; bird's-foot-trefoil (foodplant); nectar;
sheltered locations (uneven topography or within
scrub).
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Bare ground and early-succession habitats
Repeated disturbance that removes vegetation creates areas of bare and sparsely-vegetated ground.
Bare ground can include pebbles, exposed rock, and even small carpets of lichen and moss. It
invariably includes a scatter of early colonisers, many of which are food plants or provide other critical
resources such as nectar and pollen.
Soil that is over-compacted or churned is not
as good as well-drained loosely friable soil.
Bare or sparsely-vegetated ground adjoining
taller vegetation is often important.
Key determining factors:
•Disturbance – small-scale poaching by
grazing animals; rabbits; erosion on the edge
of tracks and paths; sandpits; excavation by
machinery, including top-soil removal as part
of conservation management.
Photograph: Roger Key
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Bare ground and early-succession habitats
– associated priority species
53% of priority species on heathland are
associated with bare ground and early-succession
habitats. Examples, with their requirements, are:
- tight mosaic of bare ground
and sparse vegetation in sheltered locations
(uneven topography or within scrub); heathers
(foodplants); ants of the genus Lasius.
- bare sand and shelter.
- bare sand
and aspen scrub.
•Pale Dog Violet - patchy open heathland, most
sites have ericaceous scrub, likes disturbance.
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Bare ground and early-succesion habitats
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Flower-rich habitats
Patches of tall flower-rich grasslands that are able to flower throughout the growing season can
provide a source of nectar and seeds. They are often best represented by sheets of common
flowering-plants, such as yellow composites and umbellifers.
The diversity of species and the nature of
management can also result in a complex
structure that includes tussocks and
sheltered bays within a matrix of other
vegetation.
Key determining factors:
•Disturbance - often found in areas such as
disused sandpits or along road edges.
Best managed by infrequent mowing or
occasional grazing that retains some flower
heads.
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Photograph: Isabel Alonso
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Flower-rich habitats – associated priority species
38% of priority species on heathland are associated with
intermixed grassland, and a large number of these
require herb-rich habitats. Examples, with their
requirements, are :
- a good nectar supply; mosaic of
flowers; bare sand; scrub; shelter.
•Odynerus melanocephalus, a mason wasp - legumes
and bare sand in sheltered locations (uneven topography
or within scrub).
•Red-shanked Carder-bee - scrub edge and tussocks (to
nest in); tall-sward grassland; large-scale, flower-rich
sites.
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Scrub and scattered trees
Scrub is vegetation dominated by low, woody plants that typically forms an intermediate community
between grass or heath and woodland. Scrub that contains gaps and shrubs of different sizes is of
much greater value than scrub in large, homogenous blocks.
Occasional trees are beneficial as they
provide further structural diversity.
Species can use scrub and scattered
trees for shelter, feeding, roosting and
nesting.
Key determining factors:
•Succession
•Disturbance - tree and scrub
management.
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Photograph: Isabel Alonso
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Scrub and scattered trees – associated priority species
30% of priority species on heathland are associated
with scrub and scattered trees. Examples, with their
requirements, are:
- mosaic of bare ground, low/medium
vegetation, and low/scrubby trees, often in the
woodland-edge ecotone (nesting); wide range of
habitats (feeding).
•Grasshopper warbler - extensive areas of scattered
scrub in a mosaic with tall herbs.
•Dingy mocha moth - sallow (foodplant) on heathland
and grassland; prefers small isolated bushes.
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Temporary water
These are areas of land inundated by water in the winter and
early spring, but which are dry in the summer. They can be
seasonal ponds and puddles (including wheel ruts on tracks),
the edges of larger water bodies, or just patches of ground
where ponding occurs.
Species may exploit the temporary nature of the water or the
drawdown zone (small beaches of mud with little vegetation),
or both.
Key determining factors:
•Soil/Air/Water Quality
•Topography
•Disturbance, as in ruts and gateways
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Photograph: Isabel Alonso
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Temporary water – associated priority species
13% of priority species on heathland are associated with temporary water, the majority using
bare mud or peat in the drawdown zone. Examples, with their requirements, are:
- shallow or seasonal
water bodies on heathland; pond edges; tracks; and
gateways.
•Tadpole shrimp - very shallow, muddy, ephermal
ponds.
•Natterjack toad - light, sandy soils; bare ground; short,
sparce vegetation; shallow , warm, and often
ephemeral, ponds.
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Ericaceous shrubs
Shrubs in various structural and age
classes are often used by different
species.
Key determining factors:
•Disturbance – management by
grazing, burning or mowing.
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Photograph: Dave Mitchell
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Ericaceous shrubs – associated priority species
Only 9% of priority species on heathland are specifically associated with ericaceous shrubs (as
opposed to requiring the vegetation structure that they provide). Examples, with their
requirements, are:
- open heathland in a matrix
of Calluna vulgaris of varying age classes;
sparse vegetation; bare sand in unexposed
conditions.
•Rusty Fork-moss - leggy Calluna vulgaris;
mature heath; dry slopes.
•Heath rustic - Calluna vulgaris (foodplant).
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Ecotones
These are the gradation between two adjoining
habitats, for example heathland and woodland.
Ecotones should not be severe; there should be a
gradual change from one habitat to the other.
Key determining factors:
•Succession
•Disturbance - various types of management that
encourage a transition from heathland to other
habitats.
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Photograph: Isabel Alonso
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Ecotones – associated priority species
Many priority species on heathland are associated
with ecotones. Examples, with their requirements,
are:
- mosaic of bare ground, low/medium
vegetation, and low/scrubby trees, often in the
woodland-edge ecotone (nesting); wide range of
habitats (feeding).
•Heath fritillary - cow-wheat, occasionally
plaintain (foodplant s); scrub and wood edge;
sheltered locations (uneven topography).
•Marsh clubmoss - bare peat, trampled or
poached ground, on damp, but not wet, ground
(the ecotone between dry and wet).
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Large-scale mosaic
This refers to the juxtaposition of different habitats within a landscape. For example, wetland and
woodlands adjacent to heathland. Such mosaics are largely required by highly-mobile terrestrial
species, and can include both priority and non-priority habitats.
Key determining factors:
•Scale
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Photograph: Isabel Alonso
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Large-scale mosaic – associated priority species
Over 10% of priority species on heathland are
associated with large-scale mosaics. Examples, with
their requirements, are:
- mature heather; mosaic of habitats
with populations of reptiles and small mammals
(prey).
•Woodlark - scattered trees (song posts); mosaic of
bare ground and short vegetation (foraging); taller
vegetation (nesting). Favours light sandy soils;
extensive areas; and open seed-rich areas (winter
feeding).
•Necklace ground beetle - bare ground in a range of
habitats, particularly cultivated land and field
margins, but also sandy heaths, woodland, meadows
and scrub.
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Management guides
A practical guide to the restoration and management of lowland heathland
Reptile habitat management handbook
Amphibian habitat management handbook
Promoting habitat mosaics for invertebrates – heathland
Managing priority habitats for invertebrates – lowland heathland
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