Open Landscapes With
Ancient/Old Trees Habitat Audit
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the complete Audit
Summary
This
audit includes the following habitats: deer parks, wood
pasture, other areas of unimproved grassland with scattered
old trees (usually oak). Old, mostly 19th century
landscaped parklands are also included where these appear
to have been superimposed on former wood pasture or deer
parks. These
habitats are derived from medieval forests, wooded commons,
parks and pastures with trees in them. Subsequently, some
had a designed landscape superimposed; usually during the
19th century. Defunct wood pasture is found where the traditional
management of stock grazing is no longer practiced and where
the trees are no longer pollarded to provide timber or fodder.
They may include a landscape history of commoners' rights
and forest rights. A typical example is Epping Forest.
Parklands are the typical open landscapes with scattered
trees. They may include a history of having been
enclosed and managed as deer parks, Royal hunting grounds
or formal public and private open landscapes.
The
major threat to open landscapes with ancient/old trees is
the cessation of traditional management, particularly grazing.
Most sites in London are no longer managed in this way although
deer still graze Richmond Park and Bushy Park. The remainder
of this habitat in London is maintained by mowing, which
is a much less sympathetic management regime. In
addition to the lack of grazing, many mature parkland trees
are managed inappropriately from a nature conservation point
of view, by the removal dead and decaying limbs and the
clearance of fallen or standing dead wood.
Open landscapes
with ancient/old trees are, by definition, habitats with
a well-established presence in the landscape. This is itself
a threat to their survival as it is often forgotten that
they are essentially human-created landscapes that need
to be maintained by human intervention. New generations
of trees need to be planted (or naturally regenerating saplings
protected from mowing or grazing) as long-term replacements
for extant mature specimens. Poor management
of these sites is linked with a poor understanding of their
nature conservation value and a concern for public safety.
There is a widespread and mistaken belief that dead wood
is bad for the tree and a public hazard.
A less obvious
threat, but one which may adversely affect the diversity
of sensitive species such as lichens and fungi living on
the mature trees, is air pollution. It is well known that
many lichen species are sensitive to air pollution and their
loss, or failure to re-establish themselves, may have unforeseen
consequences for a wider range of species which may be dependent
upon the lichen communities.
Most of the resource
in London lies within areas of protected open space. However,
this does not necessarily ensure effective nature conservation
management, as the protection is aimed mainly at maintaining
the recreational and aesthetic attributes of habitat. However,
under the auspices of the Veteran Trees Initiative, better
management of ancient and old trees for nature conservation
is being promoted. A number of sites around London provide
examples of successful re-introduction of pollarding, planting
of replacement trees, and resumption of grazing management.
These techniques could be readily translated to sites within
London.
The old parklands
in London are among the most popular places visited by Londoners
and tourists alike. Most informal recreational activity
is compatible with maintaining the nature conservation of
these sites and, therefore, there are opportunities for
raising awareness about park management that integrates
biodiversity conservation, landscape maintenance and recreational
demand. Awareness-raising programmes could focus on the
conservation work for some high-profile species such as
the stag beetle, bats and woodpeckers.
Download
the full Audit - the above is only a summary.
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