Wiltshire Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) 2008
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Wiltshire Biodiversity Action Plan 2008 A55/1 - 1 - The Wiltshire Biodiversity Action Plan 2008 This document was published by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust on behalf of the Wiltshire Biodiversity Partnership. It was funded by Wiltshire County Council, Natural England and Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. The review of the Wiltshire Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) was coordinated by the Wiltshire BAP Steering Group, which is made up of representatives from Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, Wiltshire County Council, Natural England, Biodiversity South West, Wiltshire and Swindon Biological Records Centre, and the Cotswold Water Park Society. Huge thanks go to all of the following organisations and individuals who attended workshops and inputted comments into the revised Wiltshire BAP: Action for the River Kennet Black Sheep Environmental Management Avon Salmon Group British Trust for Conservation Volunteers Butterfly Conservation British Waterways Center Parcs Cotswold Water Park Society Cotswolds AONB Council for the Protection of Rural England County Recorders Cranborne Chase & West Wilts Downs AONB Deer Initiative Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory Environment Agency Five Rivers Bat Group Forest Enterprise Forestry Commission Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group Game and Wildlife Conservancy Trust Great Bustard Group Great Western Community Forest Independent Ecologist – Lindsay Carrington Kennet District Council Ministry of Defence Mouchel North Wessex Downs AONB National Trust Natural England New Forest National Park Authority North Wiltshire District Council Peoples Trust for Endangered Species Plantlife Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Salisbury District Council Swindon BAP Partnership Thames Water Wessex Salmon and Rivers Trust Wessex Water West Wiltshire District Council Wild Trout Trust Wiltshire and Berkshire Canal Trust Wiltshire & Swindon Biological Records Centre Wiltshire Botanical Society Wiltshire County Council Wiltshire Fisheries Association Wiltshire Greater Horseshoe Bat Project Wiltshire Mammal Group Wiltshire Ornithological Society Wiltshire Wildlife Trust Woodland Trust This document was edited by Sarah Wilkinson, Biodiversity Action Plan Officer at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. All maps were provided by the Wiltshire and Swindon Biological Records Centre. Images used are credited individually. Thanks go to Charlotte Watson for providing hand drawn images. Any website links in this document are accessed at the user’s own risk. The Wiltshire Biodiversity Partnership can not take responsibility for the content of external sites. This document is available for download from www.biodiversitywiltshire.org.uk. Go to this website to find out the latest information on progress being made towards targets and actions and information about upcoming meetings and events, as well as more information about biodiversity in Wiltshire. A55/2 - 2 - Wiltshire Biodiversity Action Plan 2008 Contents Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................. 4 Section One: Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 6 1. The Biodiversity Action Plan Process......................................................................................... 7 2. Biodiversity in Wiltshire.................................................................................................................. 8 3. The Wiltshire BAP 2002................................................................................................................ 10 4. Coordination of the BAP ............................................................................................................... 10 5. Progress towards the actions and targets set out in 2002............................................. 10 6. The need for review....................................................................................................................... 11 Wiltshire BAP 2008 .............................................................................................................................. 13 Section Two: The Action Plans .............................................................................................................. 17 Generic Action Plan ................................................................................................................................. 19 Woodland................................................................................................................................................... 30 Wood-pasture, Parkland and Ancient Trees ....................................................................................... 39 Ancient and/or Species Rich Hedgerows............................................................................................. 46 Traditional Orchards ................................................................................................................................ 50 Farmland Habitats.................................................................................................................................... 56 Calcareous Grassland............................................................................................................................. 67 Unimproved Neutral Grassland.............................................................................................................. 75 Rivers, Streams and Associated Habitats............................................................................................ 82 Standing Open Water .............................................................................................................................. 97 Lowland Heathland Information Note.................................................................................................. 107 Built Environment ................................................................................................................................... 108 Bats Species Action Plan...................................................................................................................... 117 Section Three: Species........................................................................................................................... 125 Appendix One: Changes in Policy and Attitude since 2002 .............................................................. 143 Appendix Two: Other BAPs.................................................................................................................... 149 Appendix Three: Acronyms .................................................................................................................... 151 Appendix Four: Further Information...................................................................................................... 155 A55/3 - 3 - Calcareous Grassland Habitat Action Plan A Vision for Wiltshire’s Calcareous Grassland over the next 30 years… Wiltshire’s iconic chalk downland exists as great swathes of habitat, linked together across the landscape, and is of excellent quality - supporting a great diversity of species. A Wiltshire whose inhabitants are proud to live in a county with half of the UK calcareous grassland resource, and who understand its cultural heritage Background Lowland calcareous grassland has suffered a sharp decline in extent in the UK over the last 50 years. There are no comprehensive figures, but a sample of chalk sites in England surveyed between 1966 and 1980 showed a 20% loss in that period and an assessment of chalk grassland in Dorset found that over 50% had been lost between the mid-1950s and the early 1990s (UK BAP Lowland Calcareous Grassland HAP). Current estimates put the amount of lowland calcareous grassland remaining in the United Kingdom at around 33,000 to 41,000 ha. The bulk of the resource is found on chalk (25,000 to 32,000 ha), with major concentrations in Wiltshire, Dorset and the South Downs. Lowland Calcareous Grassland: definition Lowland calcareous grasslands have developed on shallow lime-rich soils, generally overlying limestone rocks, including chalk. The thin, well-drained nutrient-poor soils support a characteristic variety of herbs and grasses. These grasslands are now largely restricted to distinct topographic features such as escarpments, dry valley slopes or ancient earthworks, strongly influenced by the underlying limestone geology. There are a few remaining large areas on flat ground, and some small remnants occur along road verges and in woodland glades. Calcareous grasslands are typically managed as components of pastoral or mixed farming systems, supporting sheep, cattle or occasionally horses. A few are cut for hay. The definition of calcareous grasslands covers a range of plant communities in which lime-loving plants are characteristic. In the UK BAP HAP for Lowland Calcareous Grassland, lowland types are defined as the first nine calcareous grassland National Vegetation Classification communities, CG1 to CG9. Wiltshire has between 18,000 and 24,000ha of calcareous grassland, which equates to approximately 50% of the total UK calcareous grassland resource. The Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA) has approximately 12,000ha of chalk grassland. This alone, represents 41% of the chalk grassland in North West Europe. Despite the large extent of calcareous grassland remaining in Wiltshire, there have still been significant losses historically, mainly due to ploughing