i ! e 1 c 3.4.1 View south from near Alstoncfield across improved grassland enclosures with trees (mainly ash) along the boundaries. .2 View into ~~~~y Bank dry dale from near Plakc 3.4,2 ..... .., ... ,. Plate 3.4.3 Table 3.4.1 Distribution of land by ITE land cover types in the Milldale study area Land Cover I Area (ha) I Proportion % ll Improved/Semi-improved grass 1 176 I 66.5 It Rough Pasture 51 19.4 Mixed Woodland 2 1.1 Deciduous Woodland 9 3.6 Scrub 12 4.7 ScrcelRock 4 I ,4 Built-up areas 9 3.3 Total 264 dale, leading into the much larger Milldale through which flows the River Dove, The plateau land is almost all improved grass (66.5% of the total study area), with dairy and beef cattle, and to a lesser extent sheep being the main fanning enterprises, Much of the land is divided up by enclosure walls into a geometrical pattern of mostly small (4ha) fields (Plate 3.4.1). There are many trees alongside these walls, most of which are ash, but with some sycamore, beech and oak. The calcareous grassland (rough pasture in Figure 3.4.8 and Table 3.4.1) on the steep sides of Sunny Bank and Milldale is interspersed with small areas of open scrub and broadleaved woodland (Plate 3.4.2), the former becoming the latter with the passage of time in the absence of controlhg levels of grazing or active removal by man. To the south of Sunny Bank the pasture land is more open with larger enclosures leading off the plateau and down into MilldaIe and Dove DaIe (Plate 3,4.3). Table 3.4.2 Distribution of possible woodland expansion area by land cover types in the Milldale study area fr I i I1 Land Cover Area (ha) Proportion of land cover types (%) ImprovcdlSemi-improved grass 32 18.1 Rough Pasturc 28 54.9 Scrub 5 45.5 Total 64 24.2 The suggestions for possible areas for woodland expansion involve 24% of the current land cover in the area, most of it calcareous rough pasture and scrub (Table 3,4,2). Some of the areas are within either the Dove Valley Woodlands SSSI and/or the PDNP Section 3 heath 55 and moor protection area (Figure 3.4.9). However, it is not suggested that all of these areas be planted, merely that they are thr: most sutable areas for woodland expansion in tcrrns of achieving appropriate waodland communities most easily. Thus thc intention in Sunny Bank dale would be to increase the area of woodland while maintaining an appropriate mix of woodland, scrub and open grassland. In practical terms this might be most easily achieved by maintaining the south side (north-facing bank) as largely open calcareous grassland as it is at present while increasing woodland cover on the north side. There are also suggestions for linking up woodland which has become fragmented by agricultural improverncnt in recent times. It should be possibie to achieve this-in most areas by allowing areas of scrub to develop into woodland, supplcmenting by planting only where desirable species are absent or scarce, Local knowledge and careful survey and planning are essential to ensure that the best possible disposition of the new woodland is achieved with maximum habitat gain and minimum loss. Three possible areas for establishment of substantial new semi-natural woodlands are suggested for the improvedsemi-improved grassland, amounting to a total of 32 ha (18.1% of that land cover type)(Table 3.4.2). In terms of nature conservation cost- benefits, major areas of new woodland should be placed in these areas where the current conservation value is generally low. However, it must be appreciated that it will take much longer for characteristic woodland ground flora and associated fauna to develop in these arcas than adjacent to existing woodland and it is for this reason that all of them have at least one boundary which abuts woodland or scrub. 3.4.3.4 Conclusions The Milldale study area provides a good example of the mix of woodland situations and types found in the White Peak. There is no shortage of opportunities for woodland expansion but except on irnprovedsemi-improved grassland there are conflicts with other wildlife conservation objectives. The economic analysis (Section 4) suggests that there will need to be additional (but perhaps quite small) financial incentives to those currently available under the various woodland grant schemes if farmers are to be persuaded to plant on improved plateau grasslands. The alternative, if any appreciable woodland expansion is to be achieved is a softening in attitude to scrub among conservationists, since conversion of scrub is generally the cheapest, simplest and ecologically most appropriate means of achieving more semi-natural woodland. Deciding where and when scrub is acceptabfe, and additional woodland desirable, and what should be the balance in area terms between these and open ground habitat types, and how such balances can be maintained is a key policy issue in the PDNP which is addressed by the individual bodies for getting it right informed by and informing each other through the Wildlife Executive Group which has representation from EN, the county Wildlife Trusts, RSPB and LA ecolgists. 56 3.5 SHROPSHIRE HILLS AREA OF OUTSTANDING NATURAL BEAUTY The Shropshire Hills AONB occupies an area of approximately 81,054 ha of land, much of which is of predominantly upland character lying either side of the A49 trunk road from Shrewsbury to Ludlow and demarcating geographically if not administratively the boundary between the lowlands of the English Midlands to the east and the hills and mountains of Wales to the west (Figure 3S.1, Table 3.1). The topography of the AONB is very variable with substantial arcas in the Clee Hills, Clun Forest and Stiperstones areas above the 350 rn contour and providing as wild and remote a recreational experience as can be found in the South of England, but with much land between of lower elevation and more lowland character, The long high ridges of the Long Mynd and to a lesser extent Wenlock Edge are notable landmarks, rising as they do very sharply out of the Border countryside. The chief agricultural enterprises in the AONB ace livestock farming, with sheep and sheepheef cattle predominating on the higher ground, dairying and to a lesser extent arable farming in the valleys. Forestry is an important industry, also quarrying and mineral working while tourism and recreation are also important sources of employment and income in the area. Shropshire in general and the AONB in particular are extremely rich in archaeological sites. Many have been lost in the lowlands but in the upland areas there are numerous signs of man’s habitation of the area since prehistoric times. Hill forts crown many of the higher hills while tumuli and other human artefacts pepper the countryside. It would clearly be essential to take full account of archaeological sites before planning woodland expansion in any area. The geology of the AONB is complicated with the Clee Hills, Clun Forest hills, Long Mynd and Wenlock Edge consisting of igneous rocks of various kinds - dolerite, basalt and Ordovician shales in the stiperstones area, Precambrian (Longmyndiaa) sedimentary complexes in the Long Mynd and Clun Forest areas and Precambrian (Uriconian) igneous complexes in the Clee hills. This geological complexity, confounded by drift, is reflected in a wide range of soil types. The hill tops throughout the area have moderately acidic brown podzolic soils which are generally freely to moderately freely drained (e.g. Malvern, Manod, Withnell series).- there are no areas of deep peat accumulation. On lower, flatter ground in the Stiperstoneshng Mynd area heavy stagnogley soils have developed in Palaeozoic till. Lower elevation soils in the Clun Forest area are better drained brown earths, although sometimes shallow over rocks of Ordovician and Silurian origin. In the Clee Hills area the soils at lower elevations are almost exclusively moderately heavy, reddish-coloured argillaceous brown earths developed from material of Devonian age (mainly Bromyard series), The area within the AONB has a very variable climate. A marked precipitation gradient exists from above 1200 mrn on the westernmost hills to about 650 mrn in the lower areas to the east. The Clee Hills, although isolated from the hills to the west receive comparable rainfall, attesting to the significance of altitudinal controls on precipitation. Monthly mean air temperatures exhibit a fairly large variation with an average annual range of 13’C (January 3’C - July 16OC). Lower stations experience slightly higher temperatures and less frequent snow falls. It has not been possible to obtain a list of SSSI’s within the AONB in time to include in this report but clearly attention would need to be paid to these and other designations when developing my woodland expansion proposals. The Clee Hills, Clun Forest and Stiperstones areas are all within ESA’s which have conservation of existing native woodland as a tatget objective under tier two agreements. Clearly the ESA and the Countryside Stewardship 57 schemes offer ~~~~r~~~~t~~~for pr~v~ntingdamage to such woodlands and promoting mure positive approaches to woodland management among farmers and landowners. The Shropshire Hills provide important habitat EW upland birds, the moorland areas s~~~~~~~~ small but significant popuiations of breeding birds such as red grouse, curlew, wheatex and ring ouzel (the latter breeding towards the southern edge of its world ~~~~~~~~Qn range). Because the area of ~~~~~~~ is relatively small and isolated from any large similar area nearby, it is ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~t that as Ear as passible, all open habitats of wi~~~~~~ value are ~a~~~~~~~.The priority is to continue 10 extend the range and quality of heather through reducing grazing pressure @SA ~~ge~~~t~)and to improve the qudity of f~n~~~~ ~~~~~ habitats ~~~~~~ creating wet features and ~r~~O~~n~the ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~a~~~~~~ anaor ~st~~~~s~m~ntof hay meadows (RSPB, pers.