Report Number 707 The biodiversity of three traditional orchards within the Wyre Forest SSSI in Worcestershire: a survey by the Wyre Forest Study Group English Nature Research Reports working today for nature tomorrow English Nature Research Reports Number 707 The biodiversity of three traditional orchards within the Wyre Forest SSSI in Worcestershire: a survey by the Wyre Forest Study Group Malcolm J. Smart and Rosemary A. Winnall (Editors) Wyre Forest Study Group Rosemary Winnall Willow Bank, Bliss Gate Road, Callow Hill, Bewdley, Worcs DY14 9XT [email protected] You may reproduce as many additional copies of this report as you like for non-commercial purposes, provided such copies stipulate that copyright remains with English Nature, Northminster House, Peterborough PE1 1UA. However, if you wish to use all or part of this report for commercial purposes, including publishing, you will need to apply for a licence by contacting the Enquiry Service at the above address. Please note this report may also contain third party copyright material. ISSN 0967-876X © Copyright English Nature 2006 Cover note Project officer John Bingham, English Nature, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Team, Bronsil House, Eastnor, Nr Ledbury, Herefordshire HR8 1EP Email [email protected] Project coordinator Rosemary Winnall, Willow Bank, Bliss Gate Road, Callow Hill, Bewdley, Worcs DY14 9XT Email [email protected] The views in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of English Nature This report should be cited as: SMART, M.J., & WINNALL, R.A. 2006. The biodiversity of three traditional orchards within the Wyre Forest SSSI in Worcestershire: a survey by the Wyre Forest Study Group. English Nature Research Reports, No 707. Contributors The Wyre Forest Study Group The Wyre Forest Study Group (WFSG) was established in 1991 to bring together persons who are interested in studying the natural history of Wyre Forest. It is the aim of the group to be a significant authority on the flora and fauna of the Forest and thereby provide advice and information to educational and planning authorities and environmentalists. Its members comprise both professional and amateur naturalists with interests covering a broad range of the biological and earth sciences. Besides the regular membership, non-members (referred to in this report as “associates”) are welcomed and encouraged to work with members on projects in which they have a special interest or expertise. Acknowledgements Particular thanks are due to Dr Cedric Quayle, owner of Bowcastle Farm, for his generous co-operation and interest throughout the project. He kindly allowed recorders access to his delightful property at all times of the day and night without complaint! John Bingham (member of the WFSG and Conservation Officer for Worcestershire in English Nature) was responsible for initiating the project, providing liaison with English Nature and giving advice throughout. English Nature provided some financial support towards the costs of carrying out the recording and production of the report but the work was largely carried out by members and associates of the WFSG in their own time. The results are a testament to their dedication and hard work. The fieldwork forming the basis for this report was carried out by WFSG members and associates. However, many other people also provided assistance in various ways, particularly in the identification of invertebrate specimens. Many Wyre Forest Study Group members rose to the challenge of collecting records and they were rewarded with some excellent days out in the field. They were Mike Averill, David Barnett, John and Denise Bingham, Mick Blythe, Patrick Clement, Harry Green, Pat and Frank Lancaster, Kevin McGee, John Meiklejohn, Mervyn and Rosabelle Needham, Joy Ricketts, Malcolm Smart, Brian Stephens, Geoff Trevis, Rosemary Winnall, David Barnett and Paul Wright. Additional biological recorders (WFSG Associates) from across the Midlands and beyond came in to help with recording, providing expert advice: Brian Sage (Coleoptera), Patrick Clement (Lepidoptera), Dave Grundy (Lepidoptera), Mark Lawley (Bryophyta), John Partridge (Arachnida), Alan Prior (Lepidoptera), Craig Round (Lepidoptera), Adrian Uren (Mammalia). One person in particular who put very many hours into the project deserves a special mention. Mick Blythe took on the onerous task of collecting and sorting all the malaise trap material weekly throughout the year. His dedication and extraordinary commitment resulted in many records from this source over a wide range of taxa. John Meiklejohn received enormous amounts of malaise trap material. His enviable ability to identify a range of different groups was much appreciated, and he has contributed many records. National experts were called upon to check records and to identify specimens, namely, Dr Michael Archer (Aculeate Hymenoptera), Peter Chandler (Diptera), Jonathon Cole (Diptera), Dr. Tony Simpson (Micro-lepidoptera), Paul Whitehead (Coleoptera), Dr Gavin Broad (Parasitic Hymenoptera), Dr Guy Knight (Symphyta), and Dr M. Shaw (Parasitic Hymenoptera). We thank them for giving their time and knowledge so willingly. Peter Chandler especially, spent very many hours at the microscope identifying fungus gnats. Dr Peter Skidmore performed invaluable work under an English Nature contract to sort and identify material from some malaise trap samples. Rosemary Winnall, with help from Patrick Clement for moth records, set up the initial spreadsheet of records as they were submitted. At a later stage Malcolm Smart developed and maintained the database of records used to create the tables and statistics quoted in this report and Mike Bloxham provided a great deal of assistance in resolving issues relating to the data set such as inconsistencies in scientific species names. A special mention must be made of John Bingham and Brian Stephens who contributed large sections of the text. John Bingham wrote the botanical habitat survey and fungi section, and Brian Stephens contributed the brief history of the site. He went on to write the tree audit and to research the history of the site and obtain identifications of the fruit where possible. He developed the orchard tree scale of vitality index which has become an interesting part of this report. Both persons helped put together the landscape setting section and description of the orchards. Several other Study Group members helped with information, statistics and sections of text. A number of orchard experts are to be thanked for their help with the compilation of the tree data and the history of the area, namely: Mr. N. Winney, Head Gardener, Berrington Hall and custodian of the Fruit Collection for help with apple identification; Mrs. Sheila Leitch, Network Co-ordinator, and other members of the Marcher Apple Network, who spent a lot of time identifying numerous samples of apples; Professor Basil Jarvis and Dr. Murray Mylechreest for providing valuable information. Thanks are also due to staff of Bewdley and other Branches of Worcestershire County Library, for assistance in obtaining books not normally in circulation and to staff at the Worcestershire County Record Office and History Centre, and particularly Deborah Oliver at the Worcestershire Historic Environment and Archaeology Service for help with maps and aerial photographs. Dr Heather Robertson of English Nature provided comments on the final draft of the report and Ian Langford kindly checked bibliographic references. Without all this generous help from so many people the study would not have been accomplished! Summary Traditional orchards and their associated habitats support a wide variety of wildlife. However there have been very few systematic studies of the biodiversity of such orchards. To help fill this gap, English Nature set up a project in 2004 to review the extent, distribution, biodiversity and management of traditional orchards in England, and included in the project some selective orchard surveys. In parallel with this project, and with support from English Nature, the Wyre Forest Study Group undertook a separate survey of the fauna and flora of three traditional orchards forming part of Bowcastle Farm, which is situated on the edge of the Wyre Forest in the county of Worcestershire. The Wyre Forest Study Group is a local natural history and conservation group with broad technical expertise across a wide range of taxonomic groups. The aim of the survey was to demonstrate the range of biodiversity that orchards managed in a sympathetic manner can support. While the English Nature study concentrated on habitat recording, and selective recording of lichens, bryophytes, fungi and invertebrates, the members of the Wyre Forest Study Group carried out species recording in greater depth and over a much wider range of taxa. Their comprehensive survey of three traditional orchards is the first of its kind in the UK and is thus of unique importance in understanding the biodiversity of the orchard habitat. Bowcastle Farm is set in a mixed pastoral and wooded landscape with numerous cherry orchards. These formerly supplied fruit to the Birmingham area. However, the fruit trade has declined over the years and many orchards in the area have been lost. Most of those that remain, including those at Bowcastle Farm, are now not used for fruit production and have been retained for landscape or wildlife reasons. The Bowcastle Farm orchards all lie within the Wyre Forest Site of Special Scientific