University of Glasgow Phase 1 Habitat Survey Authors: Lorna Archer, Rosalind Brown & Fiona Rae Date: August 2015 1 Executive Summary Over a four week duration, three separate Phase 1 habitat surveys were carried out under the request of the University of Glasgow Estates & Buildings Department. These surveys took place over the Gilmorehill Main Campus, the Garscube Campus and the River Kelvin within the Garscube Estate boundaries. The purpose of these surveys was to provide a baseline transferable record for what vegetation is present on the University grounds and suggest recommendations for enhancing biodiversity. The University of Glasgow as a public body in under obligation to fulfil the necessary standards for meeting biodiversity standards. Each survey has put forward a separate list of recommendations for biodiversity enhancement within the University campus. Although the specified recommendations differ between the surveyed sites, there were certain common features shared. For instance, both campuses were found to encompass a good range of native species within the various habitat types identified; however, a prominent presence of invasive and non-native species was identified at both the Gilmorehill and Garscube Campus. The University has a rich natural heritage for the urban environment in which it is located. It is important that this receives full recognition and the University provides for biodiversity to the best of its ability. Many measures are in place within the grounds to encourage wildlife and growth. This report offers additional options which can be considered for developments in the near future. Contents -Introduction and Methods – Page No. 2-3 -Results – Page No. 4-22 -Discussion – Page No. 23-28 -References and Acknowledgements – Page No. 28 -AppendiX – Page No. 29 2 1. Introduction Biodiversity is the term used to describe the vast variety of living organisms found globally and considers their integration into the ecosystem. The interactions between these organisms and their habitats impact on each other and therefore must be carefully monitored and maintained to ensure a natural balance. Anthropogenic actions are often the main cause of unbalance due to our strong reliance on the ecosystem for its services such as natural gas, oil, the fishing industries and agriculture. In addition, the introduction of invasive species is another important factor affecting biodiversity. Invasive species are species which are introduced intentionally or unintentionally from another country and can at times thrive in their new habitat. This can result in native species becoming threatened due to being outcompeted and in eXtreme cases; this can lead to species eXtinction. The (Nature Conservation Act 2004) and the (Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011) are articles of legislation responsible for the protection of native species and their habitats as well implementing the correct management procedures to deal with invasive species. The University of Glasgow as a public body has an obligation to abide by these laws and ensure the best possible management of the rich landscape the University has inherited. Studies in humans have shown that access to green space reduces health risks and stress levels. Consequently, maintaining these areas is not only beneficial to the overall biodiversity of the area, but also beneficial to the students and staff who utilise them (Maller et al. 2005). The responsibility to provide local policies and Biodiversity Action Plans further assists in the monitoring and protection of these areas. A Biodiversity Action Plan was created specifically for the University of Glasgow which includes SMART targets aimed at the specific issues that require improvement across the University campuses. (A full copy of the University of Glasgow Biodiversity Policy January 2015 is available on request). It is the University’s obligation to ensure the conservation of biodiversity on the grounds which they are responsible for. These efforts allow a balance of flora and fauna to be maintained across the University grounds and ensure their impact on the surroundings areas is monitored and reduced. Each year, new opportunities for enhancement may arise. Thus by keeping updated records and revising potential biodiversity aims, the University can plan and act accordingly to meet the legislation requirements to a high standard. In accordance with enhancing biodiversity, the discussed projects in this report aim to: - Assess Gilmorehill Campus, Garscube Estate and the River Kelvin flowing through the Garscube Estate - Record and collate a Phase 1 survey for each area to provide a reference baseline for what is currently present - Suggest recommendations for enhancing biodiversity in each of the three areas 2. Methodology 2.1 Introducing Phase 1 Phase 1 habitat survey is a technique for obtaining a baseline assessment of the ecology of a site. It allows for relatively rapid surveying, generating an overview of a mapped area according to habitat classification. This survey will identify the types of habitat present, using vegetation as the key determinant. A Phase 1 survey is valuable in planning and can greatly contribute to nature conservation by the records it provides. In this project, a Phase 1 survey approach was adopted to compile a measure of the eXisting biodiversity on 3 campus. The relevance of this was to obtain a current record of biodiversity and to build a set of recommendations for enhancement. 2.2 Urban Phase 1 As the University grounds are situated in an urban environment, it was important to consider all relative habitats. An urban survey will typically produce a disjointed matriX of habitats due to the built up landscape as opposed to broader ranging habitats found in rural surveys. Similarly, high levels of management and diverse land use further disrupts an urban landscape. Within cities small isolated areas can still provide a viable and valuable habitat. 2.3 Components of Phase 1 The area of interest is divided into the relevant habitat classifications and accurately imposed onto a map. The use of colour alpha-numeric coding allows different habitats to be recognised effectively, where each habitat type coordinates with an assigned colour or design. Within each section, the vegetation is recorded and any points of interest can be highlighted by using target notes. The full detailed methodology for any Phase 1 survey can be accessed at: http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/PDF/pub10_handbookforphase1habitatsurvey.pdf 2.4 Phase ONE Habitat Survey Toolkit Phase ONE introduces a digital solution to manual Phase 1 surveying where the survey can be carried out through the Phase ONE app (Version 1.1.0) on an iPad. This allows a survey to be conducted more rapidly. For this project the app was used. It follows the same mapping procedures as a manual survey where a site can be digitally accessed through satellite imagery. Habitats are mapped using polygons and lines, where area and length are automatically calculated. These habitats are identified according to full habitat descriptions and colour coding. Target notes of interest can easily be added for any feature and species present can be selected from a list. In addition, species occurrence can be recorded according to DAFOR scaling (Dominant >75%, Abundant 51-75%, Frequent 26-50%, Occasional 11-25%, Rare 1-10%). Photographs can also be incorporated into the survey. On completion of the survey, the file can be exported and stored as an electronic summary. 4 3.1 Gilmorehill Campus – Results (A full electronic Phase 1 survey is available for this project) 3.1.1 Site Description The Gillmorehill University of Glasgow campus is a semi urban environment which covers a total of 30.18 hectares within the west end of Glasgow city. The campus is mainly dominated by buildings and roads although also contains many different green spaces which provide varied habitats for a vast array of flora and fauna. In particular there are large areas well maintained amenity grassland and a large variety of different shrub and tree species, many of which are not native. Figure 1. final habitat map of Gilmorehill Campus 5 Figure 2. habitat key for Gilmorehill Campus 6 3.1.2 Habitat Summaries Amenity Grassland: J1.2 The Gillmorehill campus is mainly dominated by amenity grassland habitat covering a total of 3.39 ha. The dominant species is annual meadow grass (Poa annua) found in all areas of amenity grass land. Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) and White clover (Trifolium repens) are also found scattered across the majority of amenity grassland areas. Across the campus >75% of the amenity grassland areas are accompanied by scattered trees such as Common Lime Tree (Tilia x europaea) and Whitebream (Sorbus aria) mostly found around the edges of the amenity grassland areas. The amenity grassland found around campus is intensively managed and the trees provide canopy cover. Across the campus there are also several areas of amenity grassland in the form of wildflower meadows which are dominated by California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica) and Chamomile (Matricaria recutita). Broadleaved Parkland/scattered trees: A3.1 The Gillmorehill campus also contains large areas of parkland with scattered trees over totalling 2.33 ha. This habitat consists of intensively managed annual meadow grass (Pao annua) with tree cover of <30%. There is a large variety of trees found across campus, although the dominant species of broadleaved trees are Common Lime (Tilia x europaea) and Whitebeam (Sorbus aris). Ash (Fraxinus excelsior), Beech (Fagus sylvatica), Silver Birch (Betula penDula) and Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) are also found frequently across the campus and again provide canopy cover for the intensively managed annual meadow grass (Poa annua). Introduced shrub: J1.4 The Gillmorehill campus contains beds which are mainly dominated by introduced shrub and cover a total of 0.26ha. These beds are found in the gardens which border many of the University Buildings. The main two introduced shrub areas are north of the library, Bute gardens, Lillybank Terrace and the Queen Margaret Union.