LOCAL WILDLIFE SITES SELECTION CRITERIA BERKSHIRE, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE AND Version 7 OXFORDSHIRE This document was prepared by Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (TVERC) and Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Environmental Records Centre (BMERC) and commissioned by Oxfordshire and Berkshire Local Authorities and by Buckinghamshire County Council. Page | 1 Local Wildlife Sites selection criteria v7 Contents 1.0| INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 9 1.1| WHAT IS A LOCAL WILDLIFE SITE? ................................................................................................. 9 1.2| LEGISLATION AND POLICY BACKGROUND ....................................................................................... 10 NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND RURAL COMMUNITIES ACT 2004 (NERC ACT) .................................................... 10 NATIONAL PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK 2012 (NPPF) ............................................................................... 10 BIODIVERSITY 2020: A STRATEGY FOR ENGLAND’S WILDLIFE AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES ........................................ 11 ECOLOGICAL NETWORKS ............................................................................................................................. 11 LOCAL AUTHORITY PLANS AND POLICIES ........................................................................................................ 12 1.3| LWS SYSTEM IN BERKS, BUCKS AND OXON ................................................................................... 13 1.4|LWS SELECTION ...................................................................................................................... 13 2.0| SELECTION CRITERIA FOR LOCAL WILDLIFE SITES .................................................................. 14 2.1| NATIONAL GUIDANCE ............................................................................................................... 14 2.2| THE CRITERIA WITHIN BERKSHIRE, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE AND OXFORDSHIRE LOCAL WILDLIFE SITE SYSTEMS ... 15 2.3| HOW TO USE THE CRITERIA AND SITE INFORMATION ......................................................................... 17 TABLE 1| SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH OF THE NINE CRITERIA ............................................. 18 2.3| CORE CRITERIA ....................................................................................................................... 19 CRITERION 1S | RARE OR EXCEPTIONAL SPECIES FEATURES ............................................................................... 19 CRITERION 1H (HABITATS)| RARE OR EXCEPTIONAL FEATURES .......................................................................... 19 TABLE 2| HABITATS CONSIDERED RARE IN EACH COUNTY .................................................................................. 20 CRITERION 2| NATURALNESS (HABITAT QUALITY) ........................................................................................... 21 CRITERION 3| SIZE OR EXTENT ..................................................................................................................... 23 TABLE 3| SIZE THRESHOLDS FOR HABITATS .................................................................................................... 24 CRITERION 4| DIVERSITY ............................................................................................................................ 25 2.4| CONTEXTUAL CRITERIA ............................................................................................................. 26 CRITERION 5| CONNECTIVITY WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE AND GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION ........................................... 26 CRITERION 6| FRAGILITY ............................................................................................................................. 28 TABLE 4| FRAGILITY OF DIFFERENT HABITATS ................................................................................................. 28 CRITERION 7| RECORDED HISTORY AND CULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS ..................................................................... 30 CRITERION 8| VALUE FOR APPRECIATION OF NATURE ...................................................................................... 31 CRITERION 9| VALUE FOR LEARNING............................................................................................................. 32 FOR EXAMPLES OF HOW SITES MAY MEET THE SELECTION CRITERIA PLEASE SEE APPENDIX 1.................................... 32 2.6| DE-SELECTION AND BORDERLINE SITES .......................................................................................... 33 3.0| WHERE DOES A LOCAL WILDLIFE SITE START AND FINISH? ................................................... 34 3.1| BOUNDARY AMENDMENTS AND EXTENSIONS ................................................................................. 35 3.2| MOSAICS AND BUFFERS ............................................................................................................ 35 Page | 2 Local Wildlife Sites selection criteria v7 4.0|HABITAT DEFINITIONS ......................................................................................................... 36 TABLE 5| HABITATS DESCRIBED WITHIN THIS DOCUMENT ................................................................................. 37 GRASSLANDS AND HEATHLANDS ................................................................................................ 38 4.1| LOWLAND CALCAREOUS GRASSLAND ............................................................................................ 38 GENERAL DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................................................... 38 GEOLOGY ................................................................................................................................................. 38 DISTRIBUTION ........................................................................................................................................... 39 ASSOCIATED HABITATS................................................................................................................................ 39 SELECTION ................................................................................................................................................ 43 TABLE 6| INDICATOR AND TYPICAL SPECIES OF CALCAREOUS GRASSLAND ............................................................ 44 4.2| LOWLAND DRY ACID GRASSLAND ................................................................................................. 46 GENERAL DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................................................... 46 GEOLOGY ................................................................................................................................................. 47 DISTRIBUTION ........................................................................................................................................... 47 ASSOCIATED HABITATS................................................................................................................................ 47 HOW THIS HABITAT DEFINITION RELATES TO THE NATIONAL VEGETATION CLASSIFICATION COMMUNITIES ................ 48 SELECTION ................................................................................................................................................ 49 TABLE 7| INDICATOR AND TYPICAL SPECIES OF LOWLAND DRY ACID GRASSLAND ................................................... 49 4.3| LOWLAND MEADOWS............................................................................................................... 50 GENERAL DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................................................... 50 OTHER NEUTRAL GRASSLANDS ..................................................................................................................... 50 ASSOCIATED HABITATS................................................................................................................................ 52 HOW THIS HABITAT DEFINITION RELATES TO THE NATIONAL VEGETATION CLASSIFICATION COMMUNITIES ................ 53 SELECTION ................................................................................................................................................ 53 TABLE 8| INDICATOR AND TYPICAL SPECIES OF LOWLAND MEADOWS .................................................................. 54 4.4| LOWLAND HEATHLAND ............................................................................................................. 56 GENERAL DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................................................... 56 GEOLOGY ................................................................................................................................................. 57 DISTRIBUTION ........................................................................................................................................... 57 ASSOCIATED HABITATS................................................................................................................................ 58 HOW THIS HABITAT DEFINITION RELATES TO THE NATIONAL VEGETATION CLASSIFICATION COMMUNITIES ................ 59 SELECTION ...............................................................................................................................................