Biodiversity…
Looking
after habitats
Without a place
to live, a species is lost. So ensuring that a diversity
of habitats is maintained into the future
is an essential part of the Plan. The main types
of natural or semi-natural habitats found in Herefordshire
are as follows:
Mixed deciduous
Lowland
beech and yew
Upland
oak
Upland
ash
Wet
woodland
Lowland wood pasture
and parkland
Unimproved neutral grassland
Improved grassland
Acid grassland
-
Orchards
-
Hedgerows
-
Rivers
-
Floodplain's
-
Urban
areas
-
Quarries
See Habitat
Action Plans section of this website for details
Nine habitats
were selected in the BAP for priority action
The aim for each one of these is to halt further habitat
loss, enhance the quality of what remains by encouraging
appropriate management, and where possible to increase the
habitat area.
| Habitat type |
Key species |
| Parkland |
Invertebrates |
| Orchards |
Mistletoe, Noble chafer, Little owl and
Mistletoe tortix |
| Woodland |
Dormice, Bats & Moths |
| Farmland |
Bats, Brown Hare and Pearl bordered
fritillary butterfly. |
| Boundaries |
Dormice |
| Quarries |
Peregrines |
| Upland commons |
High brown fritillary butterfly |
| Urban areas |
Bats and House sparrow |
| Rivers & Floodplain's |
Water voles |
The BAP process
works by actions being assigned to a Lead partners
so for example the actions recommended for orchards are …
Orchards |
| Status: |
407ha in Herefordshire and Worcestershire. |
| Trend: |
The number of traditional orchards nationally has declined
by 64% over the last 27 years. |
| Key issues: |
Neglect and lack of management.
Lack
of new trees being planted.
To
reliant on unstable market.
Customer
high specification for the prefect apple.
Spraying of pesticides. |
| Lead partner: |
Herefordshire Council |
| Target: |
Establish extent by 2000 and condition by 2005
Plant 1,000
acres of traditional orchard by
2010
|
| Action: |
Herefordshire Orchard Project to establish extent
and condition.
Awareness of orchards through Cider Museum, Marchers Apple Network, The Big Apple
and Crop share.
Countryside stewardship grants for maintenance
Herefordshire Council’s Environmental Improvement grants for planting and
pruning. |
To top
Biodiversity…
Saving the species
Habitat protection will usually ensure the survival of a
range of typical plants and animals. However, there are
species in Herefordshire which are now so uncommon or restricted
to a particular site that specific actions need to be targeted
for their survival.
What is
out there?
A full list of species of conservation concern in Herefordshire
has been drawn up in the Herefordshire Audit and Priorities
Report. Ecological survey work in the past and present which
is held by the Herefordshire Biological Records Center provides
the most up-to-date picture of how these species are fairing.
There are currently 156 species on this concern list
covering mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish,
invertebrates,
beetles, spiders, plants, mosses, fungi and lichens.
Specialised survey work is still required to identify
the extent of
many insects and lower plants.
Species currently selected for priority
action include:
See Species Action
Plans section of this website for details
“Looking
back on us, future generations will excuse the air and
water we have
fouled; such acts will be excused because
they will be reversed. But future generations will judge
us harshly for species
lost, because this will harm every generation
that follows”
Greg Easterbrook, writing about the
coming of age of environmental optimism.
|
