Hurn Forest Biodiversity Audit 2013 Hurn Forest Biodiversity Audit Hurn Parish Council Hurn Forest Biodiversity Audit PAGE 1) Executive summary 4 2) Introduction 7 3) Purpose & aims 13 4) Geology, Topography & Climate 14 5) Historic landscape & land-uses 18 6) Ecological context 35 7) Current management 63 8) Public Enjoyment of Hurn Forest 74 9) Collation of existing records and surveys 78 10) Botanical Assessment 80 11) Fungi 139 12) Butterflies and Day-flying Moths 143 13) Moths 167 14) Invertebrates 172 15) Reptiles 185 16) Birds 216 17) Bats 233 18) Remaining gaps in knowledge 250 19) Habitat management considerations 251 20) Conclusions 257 21) Acknowledgements 259 22) Data Sources 260 23) Consultation 261 24) References 262 www.swenvironmental.co.uk email: [email protected] Page 2 of 389 Hurn Forest Biodiversity Audit Hurn Parish Council Appendices Summary species data is included at the back of this report, and repeated in full in Appendix 2 Appendix 1: Base maps and aerial photographs Appendix 2: DERC data and subsequent special analysis by species groups Appendix 3: Conservation designations and condition assessments Appendix 4: Original survey reports Appendix 5: Photographs of Hurn Forest Tables and maps This report has been prepared by Simon Weymouth of SW Environmental on behalf of Hurn Parish Council. www.swenvironmental.co.uk email: [email protected] Page 3 of 389 Hurn Forest Biodiversity Audit Hurn Parish Council 1) Executive summary The purpose of this report is, in part, to draw together the collective ecological knowledge of Hurn Forest in to one place. This includes current and historic records primarily sourced from the Dorset Environmental Records Centre (DERC) as well as the Forestry Commission (FC), in addition to any written reports for the Forest. The content of this report draws heavily on the previous work of Neil Sanderson (botanical assessment, landscape history and ecology, 2007) and the more recent records and reports from specialist surveys during 2013. These specialist surveys and their subsequent records and reports were conducted by Alan Lucas (fungi & birds), Mike Jeffes & David Evans (moths), Dr Sue Clarke & David Green (butterflies and day-flying moths), Dr Scotty Dodd (invertebrates), David Tamarind (reptiles), Simon Weymouth & Alan Lucas (birds), and Colleen Hope & Paul Hope (bats). Much of the content of this Biodiversity Audit comes directly from these respective survey reports, allowing the efficient preparation of this report. Hurn Forest is believed to be an important place for common, rare and protected wildlife alike. However, there has been a lack of data to support this belief, with only limited ecological data and wildlife records from the last 30-40 years. At 5 kilometres long, and some 370 hectares in area, it constitutes a substantial and valued area, whether as a wildlife reserve and corridor, as a landscape feature, as a place to produce timber and other renewable products, or as a place for people to enjoy. The starting point for this Biodiversity Audit was the limited existing data; DERC kindly provided the project with some 26,000 wildlife records for the area, which following analysis resulted in 1655 species recorded from the Forest, and 2347 species recorded from a 1 kilometre buffer around the Forest. DERC also provided maps showing the known priority habitats found here. The following table of results (Table 1.1) shows how the Biodiversity Audit has increased the understanding of Hurn Forest and wildlife it supports. Whilst these are just numbers, the detail of this report sets out the importance of these species and the habitats that support them. www.swenvironmental.co.uk email: [email protected] Page 4 of 389 Hurn Forest Biodiversity Audit Hurn Parish Council Table 1.1: Summary of new finds Species DERC DERC Number of Number of Of these Total Group DATA DATA species new new number of Number of Number of recorded species species, species species in species in in Hurn recorded how many recorded Hurn 1km Forest in Hurn were not in Hurn Forest buffer study area Forest previously Forest study area around (2013 study area recorded study area Hurn surveys) (2013 from over last Forest surveys) buffer 30-40 area years Lower 134 115 67 21 10 155 plants (lichens, liverworts, mosses, horsetails, ferns) Fungi 14 31 269 257 240 271 Plants 326 625 265** 41 11 367 Moths 484 426 / 838* 380 107 57 / 10* 591 Butterflies 32 35 25 0 0 32 Other 518 898 333 235 167 753 insects (plus millipedes, centipedes, spiders, harvestman Molluscs 3 21 1 1 1 4 Birds 111 141 61 1 0 112 Reptiles 7 9 6 1 0 8 and amphibia Fish 10 10 - - - 10 Bats 3 6 7 4 1 7 Other 8 23 - - - 8 mammals Other 5 7 - - - 5 Total 1655 2347 / 1414 668 487 / 440* 2323 2759* * Includes records from Moors Close **2007 survey It should be noted that a small number of these species will be attributable to the Moors River channel, which forms the boundary of the study area. www.swenvironmental.co.uk email: [email protected] Page 5 of 389 Hurn Forest Biodiversity Audit Hurn Parish Council From both the individual surveys, and their collective weight of evidence, it can be concluded that Hurn Forest is an important place for common, rare and protected wildlife. 668 new species have been recorded for the Forest. It should also be remembered that this Audit provides a snapshot, recording only those species that were encountered by the surveyors during their survey visits in 2013. There are no doubt hundreds of new species records for Hurn Forest still to be discovered. Managed by the Forestry Commission, Hurn Forest represents a multi-purpose forest in which conservation, recreation and timber production co-exist. These varied objectives are balanced through the Forest Design Plan or management plan for the Forest. Whilst there are a range of views about the management of forests on areas of former heathland, what is proven through this report is that the management of Hurn Forest has allowed a wide range of wildlife to thrive. The data does also show that there have been some species declines and losses from the site, some of these are attributable to a loss of ‘commoning’ activities and some to the change from open to wooded habitats. This Biodiversity Audit would not have been possible had Hurn Parish Council not been able to secure external funding. As such Hurn Parish Council is exceedingly grateful to the following for their generous support of this project: Bournemouth Airport Community Fund Lottery Awards for All Forestry Commission. And finally, this is your Forest. Hurn Parish Council encourages you to get out there and enjoy it! www.swenvironmental.co.uk email: [email protected] Page 6 of 389 Hurn Forest Biodiversity Audit Hurn Parish Council 2) Introduction Hurn Forest runs approximately north-south, supporting over 370 hectares of woodlands and heathlands between the Moors River Valley and the Avon Valley. Located in Hurn Parish and the wider Borough of Christchurch, it lies to the north and east of Bournemouth Airport, and to the west of the main A338, with major population centres of Christchurch and Bournemouth only a few kilometres to the south. Hurn Forest is owned and managed by the Forestry Commission, and in accordance with their byelaws and the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CRoW Act 2000), the public has a right of access to enjoy this fantastic resource. From public car parks on Matchams Lane to the east and Boundary Lane to the north, there is an array of formal tracks and informal paths through the Forest. These are extensively used by the local community and visitors alike for walking, orienteering, horse-riding, dog-walking, cycling and wildlife-watching. Hurn Forest is one of the major areas of green space for recreation in East Dorset. Since the 1990’s, Hurn Forest has undergone significant restructuring through the Forestry Commission’s Forest Design Plans to create a mosaic of woodland and open habitats, both to improve the biodiversity value of the Forest and to increase the internal landscape interest. The Forest remains a working environment with forestry and tenant farming activities, supporting and managing a wide range of wildlife across habitats including broadleaf woodland, conifer woodland, valley mires, heathland and grassland. A range of wildlife has been recorded in Hurn Forest, and some of this collective wildlife knowledge for the area has previously been collated (Sanderson, 2007). However, there were significant gaps in the knowledge base, and therefore it has been difficult to assess the overall wildlife value of this Forest. Hurn Parish Council has taken a lead to remedy this, and having successfully sought financial contributions from Bournemouth Airport Community Fund, Lottery Awards for All, and the Forestry Commission, has commissioned this www.swenvironmental.co.uk email: [email protected] Page 7 of 389 Hurn Forest Biodiversity Audit Hurn Parish Council Biodiversity Audit for Hurn Forest. The Audit has assessed the existing data, responded to knowledge gaps by undertaking further ecological surveys, and brought together all of the information in to one report. It is intended for this Biodiversity Audit to be used in a number of ways to inform any and all interested parties about the wildlife value of this Forest. The purpose of this report is, in part, to draw together the collective ecological knowledge of Hurn Forest in to one place. This includes current and historic records primarily sourced from the Dorset Environmental Records Centre (DERC) as well as the Forestry Commission (FC), in addition to any written reports for the Forest. The content of this report draws heavily on the previous work of Neil Sanderson (botanical assessment, landscape history and ecology, 2007) and the more recent records and reports from specialist surveys during 2013.