Environment Report for the Wild Purbeck Nature Improvement Area Prepared for Dorset Wildlife Trust & Dorset AONB By Dorset Environmental Records Centre March 2013 Environment Report for the Wild Purbeck NIA Dorset Environmental Records Centre Page 1 of 29 Cover photograph © Bryan Edwards Environment Report for the Wild Purbeck NIA Dorset Environmental Records Centre Page 2 of 29 INTRODUCTION This report is a collation of biological information about the Wild Purbeck area. The majority of the information has come from reports, species and habitat records held at Dorset Environmental Records Centre. DERC has been established for over 30 years and during this time data has been collected and collated from a huge number of organisations and individuals. Species data, in particular, has come from many enthusiastic local naturalists. The majority of the habitat data has come from surveys for landowners (eg National Trust at Studland) and surveys of local sites (notably through the SNCI Project). Site boundaries for local sites are maintained by DERC. These are complimented by boundaries for national and international sites downloaded from the appropriate websites. This report is divided into sections as follows: Sites and designations looks at the areas currently recognised for their conservation value. The Wild Purbeck area has a huge number of designations and the text gives an overview of these. Habitat maps show the current resource within the Wild Purbeck area. This is followed by two maps; one showing sites recorded during the 1930s (the Good Archive) and the other a follow-on survey which looked at changes in habitat. A list of micro-habitats focuses on some habitats in more detail and highlights possible areas for future work. Species data currently concentrates on threatened plants and reviews changes and losses within the main habitats. This is an initial report based on data available at the start of the NIA process. The final report will include updates to the information and case studies based on work completed within the Wild Purbeck area. Environment Report for the Wild Purbeck NIA Dorset Environmental Records Centre Page 3 of 29 CONTENTS Page Sites and designations Site designations 5 Special Areas of Conservation 6 Special Protection Areas 7 Ramsar Sites 8 AONB, NNR and World Heritage Site 9 Sites of Special Scientific Interest 10 Sites of Nature Conservation Interest 11 Local sites 12 Ancient Woodland and Veteran Trees 13 Regionally Important Geological Sites 14 Habitats Lowland heathland, Mire, Fen and Acid grassland 16 Lowland calcareous grassland, Lowland meadows and 17 Purple moor-grass and rush pasture Coastal habitats and Floodplain grazing marsh 18 Lowland mixed deciduous woodland, Wet woodland and 19 Wood pasture & parkland Professor Good Archive 20 Professor Good stands re-visited by Anne Horsfall 21 Species data Changes in declining and threatened plants 22 Environment Report for the Wild Purbeck NIA Dorset Environmental Records Centre Page 4 of 29 Wild Purbeck SITE DESIGNATIONS Wild Purbeck is a fantastic area for wildlife. It covers a huge array of habitats through rocky shores, limestone grassland, heathland and a natural harbour. This wonderful diversity is reflected in the number of sites and designations crammed into an area which covers only 17% of Dorset. A popular tourist destination and sitting adjacent to the Poole conurbation, there are many pressures on this small area. The protection given through European designations and statutory sites is vital. Local sites show that even outside these “top” areas there are still many places which should be valued and conserved. Environment Report for the Wild Purbeck NIA Dorset Environmental Records Centre Page 5 of 29 Wild Purbeck Special Areas of Conservation There are four SACs within the Wild Purbeck area. These Special Areas of Conservation have been designated as some of the most important sites for wildlife in Europe. They form part of a network of protected wildlife areas that includes SACs and SPAs. Two of the SACs, Dorset Heaths SAC and Dorset Heaths (Purbeck & Wareham) & Studland Dunes SAC are designated for habitat and species interests. This includes wet and dry heath, peat vegetation, dunes and other associated habitats. Southern Damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale) and Great Crested Newt (Triturus cristatus) are also included. The Isle of Portland to Studland Cliffs SAC is important for Early Gentian (Gentianella anglica) and several important habitats including drift line vegetation and vegetated sea cliffs. St Albans Head to Durlston Head SAC is the smallest SAC within the Wild Purbeck boundary. It has been designated for Greater Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum), Early Gentian, vegetated sea cliffs and calcareous grassland with important orchid populations, especially Early Spider Orchid. Together the four SACs cover 6,790 ha, nearly 15% of the Wild Purbeck area. Environment Report for the Wild Purbeck NIA Dorset Environmental Records Centre Page 6 of 29 Wild Purbeck Special Protection Areas Dorset has three SPAs, Special Protection Areas, and two of these are within the Wild Purbeck area. They have been designated under the European Birds Directive. Dorset Heathlands SPA supports nationally important breeding populations for Nightjar (Caprimulgus European), Woodlark (Lulla arborea) and Dartford Warbler (Sylvia undata) and wintering populations of Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) and Merlin (Falco columbaris). Poole Harbour SPA supports nationally important populations of Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta), Mediterranean Gull (Larus melanocephalus) and Common Tern (Sterna hirunda). It is also an important migratory site for Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) and Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) and is regularly used by over 20,000 waterfowl and seabirds throughout the year. These two SPAs cover 7,915 ha within Purbeck, nearly 17% of the Wild Purbeck area. Environment Report for the Wild Purbeck NIA Dorset Environmental Records Centre Page 7 of 29 Wild Purbeck Ramsar Sites The Ramsar designation relates to wetlands of international importance and was adopted in recognition of the progressive encroachment on, and loss of, wetlands. Poole Harbour Ramsar, in addition to the birds already mentioned under the SPA, supports the only known British population of Vipers Grass (Scozonera humilis) plus several other British Red Data Book species. Poole Harbour Ramsar is also one of the best and largest examples of a “natural harbour” type estuary in Great Britain and it has special value for its ecological diversity. Dorset Heathlands Ramsar supports particularly good examples of wet heath and many of its sub-communities and associated species such as White Beak-sedge (Rhynchospora alba). The Ramsar includes some of the transition to grazed grassland on the floodplain of the River Frome. There are important assemblages of rare, vulnerable and endangered species including Dorset Heath (Erica ciliaris), Marsh Gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe) Bog Orchid (Hammarbya paludosa), Brown Beak-sedge (Rhynchospora fusca), Pillwort (Pilularia golobulifera), Marsh clubmoss (Lycopdodiella inundata) and the moss Spagnum pulchrum. The valley mires and wetland areas are particularly rich for their invertebrate fauna including Large Marsh Grasshopper (Stethophyma grossum), Scarce Chaser Damselfly (Libellula fulva) and Southern Damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale). These two Ramsars cover much of the same land as the SPAs, 7,605 ha within Purbeck, 16% of the Wild Purbeck area. Environment Report for the Wild Purbeck NIA Dorset Environmental Records Centre Page 8 of 29 Wild Purbeck AONB, NNR and World Heritage Site Over half the Wild Purbeck area falls within the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This is a landscape scale designation and the AONB partnership is focussed on conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of the Dorset countryside. This includes landform, geology and landscape features as well as wildlife, our built heritage and the historical record of human civilisation. Wild Purbeck includes six National Nature Reserves. These are: Arne Reedbeds, Hartland Moor, Stoborough Heath, Holton Heath, Morden Bog, Durlston and Studland & Godlingston Heath. They cover 1,474 ha or 3% of the Wild Purbeck area. NNRs are declared by Natural England and there are currently 224 in England with c. 0.6% land cover. The Dorset and East Devon Coast World Heritage Site – Jurassic Coast is the first natural WHS in England. It covers 95 miles of coastline from Orcombe Point in Devon to Old Harry Rocks in Dorset. Throughout its range 185 million years of the Earth’s history can be seen in the exposed rocks through the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. It is a place of ‘outstanding universal value’ selected by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Environment Report for the Wild Purbeck NIA Dorset Environmental Records Centre Page 9 of 29 Wild Purbeck Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest is the land notified as an SSSI under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981), as amended. There are 42 SSSIs within the Wild Purbeck area encompassing the majority of the heathland resource, part of the Purbeck Ridge and almost the entire length of coast including the cliffs and the coastal habitats around Poole Harbour. They cover 10,585 ha, nearly 23% of the the Wild Purbeck area. For the whole of Dorset, only 7.5% is covered by SSSI, illustrating again the recognised importance of Purbeck for its outstanding