An Invertebrate Scoping Survey Of Land South of Castle Walk Castle Walk, Calne, Wiltshire, SN11 0EZ Survey carried out by Andrew Grayson on Monday 8th August 2016 To Focus Ecology Ltd., Unit 2, Ball Mill Top Business Park, Hallow, Worcester, WR2 6PD Website: www.focus-ecology.com By Invertebrate Consultant Andrew Grayson, ‘Scardale’, High Lane, Beadlam, Nawton, York, YO62 7SX Email: [email protected] CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . 1 AIM OF THE SURVEY . 1 KEY INVERTEBRATES AND KEY HABITATS . 1 THE SURVEY AREA . 1 LOCATION . 1 LAND USE . 1 HABITATS AND FEATURES . 1 THE SURVEY . 2 INTRODUCTION . 2 METHODOLOGY . 2 SURVEY COMPARTMENTS . 2 NOTES ON THE COMPARTMENTS (QUARTERS) . 2 RESULTS . 3 INTRODUCTION . 3 STATUTORILY PROTECTED INVERTEBRATES . 4 JNCC-LISTED INVERTEBRATES . 4 UK BAP PRIORITY SPECIES . 4 OTHER NOTEWORTHY SPECIES . 4 CONCLUSIONS . 4 SIGNIFICANT INVERTEBRATES . 4 THE HABITATS . 5 RECOMMENDATIONS . 5 REFERENCES . 5 APPENDICES [Pages 6 to 21] APPENDIX 1: PLAN . 6 PLAN 1: TREE PLANTING/RETENTION PLAN . 6 APPENDIX 2: TABLE . 7 TABLE 1: INVERTEBRATE SPECIES LIST . 7 APPENDIX 3: PHOTOGRAPHS . 11 1 INTRODUCTION Invertebrate consultant Andrew Grayson was commissioned by Focus Ecology Ltd. to carry out an invertebrate scoping survey of land situated south of Castle Walk in the town of Calne in the county of Wiltshire. The land is subject to Wiltshire Council Planning Application no. 16/04507/FUL. AIM OF THE SURVEY The survey aimed to sample the invertebrate fauna, and investigate the habitats and features currently available, in order to assess the invertebrate value, or potential value, of the habitats and features present. KEY INVERTEBRATES AND KEY HABITATS Of primary importance, was an investigation and assessment of whether statutorily protected invertebrates were present, or could potentially occur given the habitats and features available. Any potentially key habitats were those which may prove vital to the ecology of any statutorily protected species. THE SURVEY AREA LOCATION The survey area was located in the central-western part of Calne, being situated south of Castle Walk; and more particularly, being immediately south of Sarum Way, and immediately north of a disused outlying section of the Wiltshire and Berkshire Canal. The survey area was roughly square in shape, being circa 1.8 hectares in size, centred on National Grid reference ST9931470915 [longitude and latitude co-ordinates 51°43’72.27”N 2°01’12.62”W]. The approximate corners of the survey area were: ST9923270988 [north-west corner], ST9924670879 [south-west corner], ST9935870974 [north-east corner], and ST9939670844 [south-east corner]. The extents of the survey area are shown on the Tree Planting/Retention Plan [page 6]. LAND USE There was no current or recent commercial or recreational land use. HABITATS AND FEATURES There had been no active land management for some time; consequently, the land had been allowed to develop into woodland and scrub-woodland, with interspersed small glades which favoured tall ruderal vegetation. The northern boundary of the survey area featured a relatively species-rich hedgerow, albeit rich in common species such as Crataegus monogyna [Hawthorn], Sambucus nigra [Elder], Hedera helix [Ivy] and Fraxinus excelsior [Ash]. Flowering plants were relatively plentiful in the glades on the day of the survey, the dominant flowers being Eupatorium cannabinum [Hemp Agrimony], which occurred in large dense patches in the northern part of the site. The glades in the central and southern parts of the survey area tended to be dominated by tall grasses. The soil, where visible, appeared mainly clay-based; which would be typical for the general range of plants present. Parts of the site had fragments of stones and other materials, including corrugated asbestos fragments. There were also a few larger items of shed debris. The soil was generally fairly compacted, and mainly covered in a layer of moss, although the moss was generally inconspicuous due to the density of tall competitive plants present. 2 As seen from aerial photography, woodland is the dominant current feature of the land surveyed. The woodland of the central, northern and eastern parts of the site was mainly Crataegus monogyna [Hawthorn] dominated scrub-woodland. The woodland of the western and southern parts of the site had patches of scrub-woodland, but also featured several mature trees with significant girth and rot: particularly notable were some Populus tremula [Aspen]. The ground flora beneath the tree canopy was variable. Where a fairly dense scrub-woodland canopy occurred, the earth beneath was dominated by dead leaves, or scattered Urtica dioica [Common Nettle]. Otherwise, the ground flora was fairly lush. Many of the trees were significantly affected by Hedera helix [Ivy]. In the southern part of the site, the land sloped fairly abruptly towards the site’s southern margin, where seasonally-wet areas contained marshland communities. The general topography of the majority of the site was gently sloping southwards, albeit the land surface was mainly uneven, and showed signs of past human usage and disturbance. There was some current disturbance due to youthful activities such as building campfires and dens. THE SURVEY INTRODUCTION The survey was carried out by Andrew Grayson on Monday 8th August 2016. The weather conditions were conducive for invertebrate sampling and recording; therefore, the resultant list is a good representation of the invertebrates that were present on the day of the survey. Weather conditions were mainly cloudy and humid, the clouds being high, and mainly light. There were periodic periods of sunshine, and occasional darker clouds. The temperature [in the shade] was fairly constant, approximately 19°C. There was a light westerly breeze, but this did not much affect most parts of the survey area, which were sheltered by tree cover. The survey considered all invertebrates, but focussed on habitats or features likely to be of at least secondary invertebrate value. METHODOLOGY As far as was possible, the entire area was surveyed on foot. Invertebrates were sampled and recorded from all parts of the survey area. The survey methods and protocol were adapted from Drake et al. (2007), and principally involved the recording of invertebrates in the field; and the collection of invertebrates for critical examination. The collecting methods were mainly sweep-sampling, spot-sampling, and ground-searching. Descriptions of these methods were given by Drake et al. (2007). SURVEY COMPARTMENTS Somewhat conveniently for biological recording purposes, the survey area was roughly square and could be conceptually divided into rough quarters by virtue of National Grid 100m². This created four compartments, enabling the resultant invertebrate records to be allocated to either the north-west quarter [ST992709], the south-west quarter [ST992708], the north-east quarter [ST993709], or the south-east quarter [ST993708]. NOTES ON THE COMPARTMENTS (QUARTERS) NORTH-WEST QUARTER [ST992709]: Most of the north-west quarter was wooded with a variety of woodland and scrub-woodland trees and bushes. Many of the trees were afflicted by Hedera helix [Ivy]. The northern end of the quarter was more open and densely vegetated with Eupatorium cannabinum [Hemp Agrimony], Cirsium [thistles], Rubus fruticosus [Bramble], Senecio jacobaea [Common Ragwort], and Rumex [docks]. 3 SOUTH-WEST QUARTER [ST992708]: The northern section featured woodland and glades, the southern section featured a seasonally-wet area. This quarter contained several mature trees with notable rot, a lone Populus tremula [Aspen] standing in the seasonally-wet area being the most notable example. The ground flora of the northern section was lush and mainly featured tall grasses, Rubus fruticosus [Bramble], Cirsium [thistles], and Urtica dioica [Common Nettle]. There was more variety in the flora of the southern section. The southern seasonally-wet area included Typha latifolia [Reedmace], and was dry at the time of the survey. NORTH-EAST QUARTER [ST993709]: This quarter was characterised by mature and semi-mature Crataegus monogyna [Hawthorn] scrub, forming areas of scrub-woodland, interspersed with lushly-vegetated open areas, which were dominated by flowering Eupatorium cannabinum [Hemp Agrimony] at the time of the survey. Other ‘scrub’ included young Fraxinus excelsior [Ash]. Other flowers included Lamium album [White Deadnettle], Lonicera [honeysuckles], and Senecio jacobaea [Common Ragwort]. The grasses were mainly of the coarse species. SOUTH-EAST QUARTER [ST993708]: The northern part of the south-east quarter was dominated by Crataegus monogyna [Hawthorn] scrub-woodland. The southern part was far more interesting ecologically, including mature Populus tremula [Aspen] with significant rot, and a seasonally-wet densely-vegetated marshy area, which was damp underfoot at the time of the survey. RESULTS INTRODUCTION The results section of an invertebrate report is principally an analysis of the data resulting from the survey, giving particular attention to any species found which may be of any national conservation importance. Of primary importance are species which are currently statutorily protected. Other species which may be considered are those currently listed in the UK BAP [United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan]; and, more particularly, those which are currently attributed a national conservation status by JNCC [Joint Nature Conservation Committee], or an international conservation status by IUCN [International