Lt G6 Te'd Hcarch Ici79
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Lt_G6 Te'D HcArch Ici79 NATURALENVIRONMENTRESEARCHCOUNCIL (INSTITUTEOF TERRESTRIALECOLOGY) 1 THIRD INTERIMREPORTTO THE NATURECONSERVANCYCOUNCIL ON THE BIOLOGICALSURVEYOF BRITISHRAIL PROPERTY (NCC/NERCCONTRACTNO F3/03/80a ITE PROJECTNO 466) CAROLINESARGENT& J 0 MOUNTFORD MONKSWOOD EXPERIMENTALSTATION ABBOTSRIPTON HUNTINGDON MARCH 1979 This reportis an officialdocumentprepared under contractbetweenthe NatureConservancy Counciland the NaturalEnvironmentResearch Council. It shouldnot be quotedwithout permissionfromboth the Instituteof Terrestrial Ecologyand the NatureConservancyCouncil. • ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are gratefulto BritishRail for their co-,operationand assistanceduring 1978. In particularwe would like to thank Mr. C. Beagley and members of staff of Southern and Western Regions. We are also indebtedto colleaguesat ITE for their advice and assistancewith analyticaltechniquesand methods and would like to thank Dr. R.G.H. Bunce, Mr. G.j. Moller and Mr. M.W. Shaw; Dr. S.B. Chapman kindly oversaw fieldwork during the summer months. We are especiallygrateful to Miss S. Knight for preparingthe maps and Mrs Valerie Burton for typing the manuscript. -OM a IIMMINO --a a IMOINIIIMININ CONTENTS Page SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 General 1 1.2 Liaisonwith BritishRail and the Nature 1 ConservancyCouncil 1.3 Historicaland archivalresearches 5 1.4 Sites of particularbiologicalinterest 5 1.5 The 1978 survey 5 1.6 Animal recording 7 1.7 Staffing 7 SECTION 2 THE OBJECTIVESURVEYS 8 2.1 Locationof sites 8 2.2 Quadrat size, positionand pattern 9 2.3 Informationrecording 12 2.4 Analyticalmethods 13 2.5 Site analysis 14 2.6 Quadrat analysis 21 SECTION 3 THE BIOLOGICALINTERESTSURVEY 27 3.1 Informationcollection 27 3.2 Discussion 27 SECTION 4 SOME CHARACTERISTICRAIIMAY PLANTS - 31 J.O. MOUNTFORD 4.1Introduction 31 4.2E uisetum arvense L. 31 4.3Epilebium lanceolatumSeb. & Mauri. 34 4.4 Linaria re ens (L.) Mill. 35 4.5Linaria sunina (L.) ChaZelles 36 4.6 Chaenorhinumminus (L.) Lange. 36 4.7Senecio s ualidus L. 37 4.8 Vulpia spp. 37 4.9Some preliminaryconclusions 38 SECTION 5 ANIMAL RECORDING 1+0 5.1 Habitat appraisal 40 5.2 Species recording 141 5.3 Casualties 49 SECTION 6 DISCUSSIONAND AOPOSED 'dORK 50 ' 6.1 An:-.13z7Yitionof the objectivecurveys 50 6.2 Stratification,of the combined surveys 51 6.3 General conclusions 53 Page REFEZEiCES 5 APPENDICES Random sites visitedduring 1978 58 Cutting/Embankmentsites • 66 BiologicalInterest sites 84 Recordingproformasand ground rules 93 Additionalplant specieson Southern and 102 Western regions Eastern region sites of particularconservation interest (separatelybound) MAPS InsideBeekCover Site locations Geology Soils Relief TABLFS 1.1 Approved list of weedkillersfor BR purchase, 1978 3 1.2 Approved list of weedkillersfor contractorsuse on 4 BR property 1978 2.1 Classificationof random sites, 1978, showing indicator 16 species,end groupingsand levels of division 20 2.2 . Impositionof I.S.A. classes, 1-13 and environmental vectors on the reciprocalaveragingordinationof random sites in Southernand Western regions. 2.3 Comparativeclassificationsof vegetationfrom Inside random sites using 0 incidenceor ii) quantitative BockCover (cover)data. 3.1 Sites of particularvalue recorded in Southern and 28 Western regions 4.1 Typical railway species 32-33 4.2 Species with greatestrailuay frequency 34 5.1 Cuttings, animal records for 82 sites (1978) 40 5.2 Embankments,animal records for 78 sites (1978) 41 5.3 Number of animal species recordedduring 1978 42 5.4 Additionalbirds recorded on Southernand Western 42 regions 5.5 Species list of insects 47-49 5.6 Species list of other invertebrates 49 6.1 Stratificationattributes 52 1. SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION 1.1 General This is the third interim report to the Nature ConservancyCouncil on the BiologicalSurvey of British Rail Land. It is primarily concernedwith the refinementof informationcollection,handlingand assessmenttechniques,and does not, at a mid-point in the contract,attempt to make fundamentalstatements about the qualityand distributionof biologicalspecies. However, the range of variabilityof observedbiota is recorded,not only for purposesof method evaluation,but also to draw attentionto those areas which are likely to be of particularinterest to the Nature ConservancyCouncil. Sites where any alterationof currentmanagementtechniquesmight prove of concern have been noted, as have areas where additionalresearchmight prove especially fruitful. Work completedduring 1978 is describedand proposed modificationsoutlined and discussed,the intentionbeing to trace the developmentof ideas which will define the eventualshape of the projectand to discuss results only as they are implicatedin this process. The objectivesof the survey have been defined in earlierreports (1977, 1978) and are not fully re-examinedat this stage. 1.2 Liaisonwith BritishRail and the Nature ConservancyCouncil During the past.year,work has again been carried out in close co-operation with British Rail. Contactswere establishedwith Regional and Divisional Engineers (PermanentWay) in Southern and Western Regions, who suppliedmaps and informationand who have been kept fully informedof the movementsof the field team. Permissionto work in the London Midland Region during 1979 has been granted by the Chief Civil Engineer,and members of his staff have supplied excellentline maps and given full assistanceto the project. The team have again undertakento observe safety precautionsdefined by BritishRail. Additionalinformationconcerningrailway land managementhas been received. Of particularinteresthas been discussionabout the sourcesand propertiesof ballastingmaterials (C. Beagley, pers. comm.). A list of quarries from which the ballast is derived is in preparation,althoughrecords of distribution, which depend on local and temporalavailability,are difficultto trace. Previously,limestoneballast has been widely used, although after wetting 2. attritionproblemsare experiencedand it is likely that limestonewill gradually be entirelyreplacedby granite. This change will have some effect on the railway flora since the presence of geologicallyuncharacteristicballast may introduce local modificationto pH. Further informationhas been received concerningherbicides,approved under the AgriculturalChemicalsApprovalScheme, and in currentuse or proposed for future use on BritishRail propertY. Table 1 lists herbicidesapproved for purchaseby BritishRail permanentway staff, whilst Table 2 gives those chemicals likely to be used by the major companiesholding weed control contracts for BritishRail property. Of particularinterestis the inclusionof aMmonium ethyl carbamoylphosphonate,or "Krenite" (E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.) in the former liSt. Krenite has been developedas a brushcontrolagent having a very low toxicityto the majority of animal forms. It is presentlyundergoingtrials by the British Hail DisinfestationServices and by chemicalcontractorsto BritishRail. Results to date have not been entirely consistent,although the virtual absence of known harmful side effects from this chemicalstronglyindicate its potentialenvironmentalvalue. Limitedusage and more widespreadtrials are likely to be introducedin 1979. A preliminarylist of sites of particularinterestoccurringin Eastern, Southernand Western Regions has been sent to British Rail and to the Nature ConservancyCouncil, and some discussionconcerningthe ways in which such sites might best be protectedor managed has been generated. Some of the alternatives already consideredare describedin Section 6. In one particularinstance, locationby a member of the team (3.0. Mountford)of a hithertounrecordedspecies for Britain (Sell & West, in press) Hieracium zygophorumHyl. (Hylander,1943) growing togetherwith Hieracium exotericumJord. ex Bor., a rare alient, has led to cooperationbetween BritishRail and the Nature ConservancyCouncil. It is hoped that the site will be sympatheticallymanaged and that the populations of these rare or overlookedhawkweedswill bc carefullymonitored. Advice concerningsites of suspectedBiologicalInterestin Southern and Western Regions was received from staff members of the Nature ConservancyCouncil. Many of these sites were surveyedduring 1978 (Section3)1 although some bias was shown toward sites in South Wales and South-WesternEngland,where particularlyextensiveand detailed informationwas made available. Table 1.1. Approved list of weedkillersfor BR purchase 1978. I For spra in of slopes (SelectiveWeedkillers) Phortox 50 (Fisons) 2-4-5 T Atladox (Chipman) Picloramand 2,4-D Tordon 22K (Dow-Chemical) Picloram (1) Krenite (Dupont) Ammonium ethyl carbamoylphosphonate (2) II For s raying of track cess ards (TotalWeedkillers) Atrazine A.80 (Fisons) Atrazine Atlazin (Chipman) Aminotriazoland Atrasine Destrol BR (Borax) Bromaciland Aminotrazol (3) Destrol Super (Borax) Bromacil,Dalaponand 2,4-D (3) III Granules for track cess ards (TotalWeedkillers) Chlorea (Chipman) Sodium chlorate,Atrazine, 2,4-D and Borax Hydon (Chipman) Bromacil and Picloram Borocil (Botax) Atrazineand Bromacil Weedex A4G. (Ciba Geigy) Atrazine IV .Dustin owder for ards latforms etc. (TotalWeedkiller) Atlacide Extra (Chipman) Sodium chlorate,Sodium metasilicate and Atrazine Notes:- Recently approved - Not on SuppliesManagers Contract Advice. For experimentaluse - Not on the AgriculturalChemicalsApproval Scheme, but consideredto be a very safe chemical. (5) For use by BR Spray Train only. (CourtesyC. Beagley) •••• Table 1.2. Approved list of weedkillersfor contractorsuse on BR property 1973. Fisons