Cardiganshire
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Cardiganshire The vice-county of Cardiganshire has a low-lying coastal belt reaching into the Cambrian Mountains which has historically been used for arable cultivation as part of mixed faming. Small scale arable cultivation was a feature of the area as shown by the 1930s land use survey which is considered a low point in th arable cultivation. Growing crops will probably have increased during the World Wars in the 20 Century as there was a greater need to be more self- th reliant, and the advent of herbicides and inorganic fertilisers in the mid 20 Century has led to an increase in crop production in some areas as weed control has improved. However, the reverse trend is apparent in Cardiganshire with a huge decrease in arable farmland by an estimated 93% between the 1930s and 1990s. There are still pockets of arable cultivation concentrated around Cardiganshire according to the latter land use map, but the lower revenue from small-scale cropping may mean that it is uneconomical to continue producing crops at this scale for the commercial market. There are a number of other reasons why arable cropping may have declined including the general change in farming businesses towards more livestock farming and pastoral land; the increase in herbicides and fertiliser costs which may lie beyond the means of small-scale farms; and transport links which may have made it uneconomical for small-scale arable and mixed farming to be continued where transport is a significant cost for the farm business. The only Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for arable plants in Wales is located around Mwnt on the south west coast of Cardiganshire. Several threatened plants are known from this area including annual knawel Scleranthus annuus, small-flowered catchfly Silene gallica and narrow-fruited cornsalad Valerianella dentata. There are 17 out of 30 threatened arable plants in Cardiganshire and new naturally-occurring populations have been found in recent years. Two populations of cornflower Centaurea cyanus have been found near Pennant and another in the south of the vice-county east of Newcastle Emlyn. Several locations of large-flowered hemp-nettle Galeopsis speciosa have been identified including near Pennant and inland near Capel Bangor and south of Devil’s Bridge. Cardiganshire may be a hotspot for both species and further searches are recommended. The distribution of corn mint Mentha arvensis is an oddity as it has generally been recorded at too small a scale to provide an accurate fix on location. This means that it appears to be relatively sparsely distributed across Cardiganshire whereas it may actually be more widespread. However, the small scale of the records, generally hectads (10x10km squares), may hide a population decline and further investigation of the population dynamics of this species is required across Wales. Two arable plants corn spurrey Spergula arvensis and field woundwort Stachys arvensis are widespread across Cardiganshire and Wales is probably the hotspot in the UK as they are sparsely distributed elsewhere. Seventy tetrads (2x2km squares) have three or more threatened arable plants and should be targeted for suitable management practices. Cardiganshire has a number of locations that would qualify for Important Arable Plant Area status as they have good assemblages of arable plants. There are two tetrads considered to be of European Importance, 30 considered to be of National Importance and 53 considered to be of County Importance for arable plants concentrated along the low-lying coastal belt. These locations should be targeted for arable plant conservation along with threatened plant populations to maintain the diversity of these flowering species across the vice-county. There has been a huge amount of recording of arable plants in parts of Cardiganshire, particularly around the Mwnt SSSI fields. However, as new populations of naturally occurring arable plants are being found there is a need for further systematic survey of arable land across the vice-county. This should target some of the arable fields inland as they seem to be the locations which may have not been surveyed previously, particularly in the areas where recent cornflower and large-flowered hemp-nettle populations have been recorded. This would provide more rigorous data that could be used for targeting management measures for arable plants used in agri-environment schemes and voluntarily by conscientious farmers. Cardiganshire 1933-1949 Arable Land Use The extent of arable land in 1933-49 across Cardiganshire totalled 30845 ha along the coastal strip inland to the Cambrian Mountains. In total, 428 tetrads out of 529 tetrads had arable land use present. The 1930s are considered a low point in arable land use, and the coverage of cultivated land may have been historically much greater. Cultivated land was fairly extensive in the vice-county except for the uplands and marsh – sand dune habitats of the Dyfi estuary. Contains Ordnance © Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru, Survey data © Crown 2014. © Natural Resources copyright and database Wales, 2014. right 2014. ± 5 km Cardiganshire 1979-1991 Arable Land Use Between the 1933-49 land use survey and 1979-1991 Phase 1 habitat survey of Wales there was a 93% decrease in arable land use across Cardiganshire. 2258 ha of arable land was identified in the Phase 1 habitat survey with cultivated parcels of land falling in 269 out of 529 tetrads. There are several accounts of arable coverage across Cardiganshire over time (see the Flora of Cardiganshire for references). Table 1 draws this information together with the digital maps presented in the first land use survey and Phase 1 habitat survey. It shows clearly how the amount of cultivated land has changed over time with a recent decline at the end of the 20th Century. Table 1: Summary of arable land coverage over time Period Hectares Reference 1801 15933 Acreage returns 1911-13 37938 Agriculture of Wales 1939 29590 and Monmouthshire account 1933-1949 30847 First Land Utilisation Survey of the UK 1988 5529 Account of an economic perspective of Cardiganshire agriculture 1979-1991 2258 Phase 1 habitat survey of Wales The decrease in arable land in Cardiganshire may be related to a change to a more pastoral landscape with livestock farming, particularly sheep rearing, dominating. The Contains Ordnance © Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru, poorer transport links between Cardiganshire and the rest of the UK may have made Survey data © Crown 2014. © Natural Resources copyright and database Wales, 2014. growing crops un-economic resulting in a right 2014. reduction in cropped land. In addition, the use of inorganic fertilisers and herbicides ± increased from the 1960s onwards which 5 would affect the arable plant communities. km As a consequence, the decline in arable plants may be greater than the decline in arable land. Cardiganshire Soil Map The most common soils in Cardiganshire fall within the clay category and is the dominate substrate for 406 tetrads out of 529 tetrads. The clays are generally drift soils, gleyed brown earths and soils with low water permeability. Sandy soils are the dominant soil type for 6 tetrads and include the larger expanses of sand dunes in the vice county. There is also an area of sandy soils near Penparc which has been quarried. There are no soils that could be considered to be derived from weathered limestone in Cardiganshire. The other soil category is the dominant substrate for 116 tetrads. This includes deep peat-rich soils that are present in upland areas, disturbed soils from old mining activity and peat bogs / raised bogs. Contains Ordnance © Cyfoeth Naturiol Survey data © Crown Cymru, 2014. © Natural copyright and database Resources Wales, 2014. right 2014. ± 5 km Corn Chamomile Anthemis arvensis One population of corn chamomile has been found near Aberystwyth. It is likely that this is from introduced seed as the population was a casual occurrence on a rubbish-tip. Corn chamomile and the closely related introduced species Austrian chamomile Anthemis australis are often components of annual seed mixes or cornfield flower mixes. This creates some confusion over whether populations are native or introduced. Contains Ordnance Contains species data maintained Survey data © Crown by the Vice-County Recorder and copyright and database provided by the Botanical Society right 2014. of the British Isles and Ireland and accessed from the BSBI ± Distribution Database 2014. 5 km Cross-reference has been made with the 2010 vice-county Flora and the Cardiganshire card index provided and maintained by the BSBI VC46 Cardiganshire Recorder. Stinking Chamomile Anthemis cotula Two populations of stinking chamomile have been identified in Cardiganshire. One of these populations is considered to be naturally occurring. Stinking chamomile is occasionally present in cornfield flower seed mixtures and some scrutiny of records is required to make sure that they are genuine. Both records are from agricultural holdings, with the population size of the 1996 record near Temple Bar being recorded as ‘sparse throughout the oat and potato crop’ and a single plant noted from a manure heap in 2006 near Aberystwyth. It is very likely that the latter population arose from seed transported in livestock fodder. Contains Ordnance Contains species data maintained Survey data © Crown by the Vice-County Recorder and copyright and database provided by the Botanical Society right 2014. of the British Isles and Ireland and accessed from the BSBI ± 5 Distribution Database 2014. km Cross-reference has been made with the 2010 vice-county Flora and the Cardiganshire card index provided and maintained by the BSBI VC46 Cardiganshire Recorder. Cornflower Centaurea cyanus There are scattered cornflower records across Cardiganshire. Generally they are located along the western and southern areas of the vice-county, which historically were cultivated rather than the eastern area of the Cambrian Mountains. The records have been mapped with the most recent date reference.