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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
The Land Trust supports National Volunteers’ Week The Land Trust is supporting National Volunteers’ Week once again
after benefitting from more than 28,500 volunteering days across its
parks and green spaces in 2015-16. National Volunteers’ Week, an annual celebration of all that is great
about volunteering, takes place this year between 1 to 12 June. It is
led by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and
celebrates the fantastic contribution millions of volunteers make across
the UK. The Land Trust, which owns and manages nearly 60 parks and community
green space across the country, most of which have benefitted from the
tireless work of volunteers taking part in activities spanning
wildflower planting, shrub clearance, den building for learning
opportunities and recording and welcoming visitors. Motivations for people choosing to go out onto a Land Trust site
range from wanting to learn skills to meeting new people to boosting
health or simply to give something back to the community. There is also a consistent desire by local businesses to make a
difference to the community and get staff out and about in the great
outdoors. This has helped contribute towards the equivalent of more than
5,500 volunteering days taking place across the Land Trust’s parks and
green spaces in 2015-16.
England on the crest of a new wave of tree planting
- Confor England could be on the verge of a new tree planting boom after a forestry
innovation fund launched by a Government minister at a Confor event
received applications to plant more than 1000 hectares of new woodland. Rory Stewart MP launched the £1 million Forestry Innovation Fund at
Modern Forestry: Unleashing the Rural Potential at Westminster last
November. Now, Forestry Commission figures have revealed a very
strong response to the fund, which encourages schemes that will promote
the growth of the forest industry in their region and have the support
of their Local Enterprise Partnership. The Woodland Creation
Planning Grant (WCPG) is financed by the fund, to address common
complaints that significant upfront costs are holding back potential
planting schemes. The WCPG pilot ran from December 2015 to February 2016. Forestry
Commission England received 11 applications, offering grants to all
applicants and 10 of these offers are being taken forward - relating to
proposals for a total of 1,064 hectares of new productive woodland and
ranging from 33 to 339 hectares in area. Stuart Goodall, Chief Executive of Confor, said: “This is excellent
news, but it is vital that these schemes move to rapid approval. If this
scheme works as both we and Government hope, then it can act as a
catalyst to drive up new planting in England, which has been
disappointingly low in recent years.”
World’s largest skate and small shark followed in new west coast tagging
study - SNH High-tech tracking devices are helping scientists to protect two of
Scotland’s most endangered fish species in a west coast Marine Protected
Area (MPA). Marine biologists from Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and Marine
Scotland Science (MSS) are working together, with help from local creel
fishermen and anglers, to better understand how common skate and spurdog
use the Argyll MPA. The Loch Sunart to the Sound of Jura MPA is designated to help
protect the common skate, the world’s largest skate species. Skate are
related to sharks and common skate can grow up to two metres across and
three metres long. The project team have fitted tags to 40 skate caught
in the area, the largest of which weighed an impressive 98kgs. Dr Jane Dodd, who is managing the project for SNH, said: “We’re
really lucky in Scotland to have a wonderful range of wildlife living in
our seas. Previous studies have shown that common skate are resident in
the waters off Oban in significant numbers and the MPA was designated
for their protection in 2014. By tracking skate in the MPA we aim to
better understand how they use the area throughout the year, which will
help us to make sure that the management of the site is appropriate.”
Record-breaking bird migration revealed in new research – Newcastle
University Electronic tags fitted to one of the world’s smallest seabirds have
revealed record-breaking migration distances. A study carried out by scientists at Newcastle University for BBC’s
Springwatch has mapped for the first time the incredible annual
migration of Arctic Terns from the Farne Islands on the Northumberland
coast. Weighing just 100g the Arctic Tern has the longest migration of any
bird, travelling all the
way
to Antarctica for the winter and back to the Farnes, which are owned and
managed by the National Trust, to breed in the Spring. Last year 29 birds were fitted with geolocators by local researchers
from Newcastle University watched by Springwatch presenter Nick Baker
and National Trust rangers. The first of the Terns arrived back in the
Farnes this spring. Image: Newcastle University One bird was found to have made a 96,000km
round trip between Northumberland and its winter home in the Weddell
Sea, Antarctica. This is the longest flight ever recorded for a migratory bird. The
previous record was held by an Arctic Tern from the Netherlands, which
had made a 91,000km round trip to its wintering grounds and back.
Roads “a serious threat” to rare bats – University of Exeter Roads present a serious threat to bat populations, indicating that
protection policies are failing. The University of Exeter experts studied data collected across Europe
and concluded that roads present “a real and growing danger” to
protected bat populations. The research, funded by the Natural
Environment Research Council (NERC), concluded bats were often reluctant
to cross roads, disrupting their ability to reach feeding and roosting
areas. The group also identified more than 1,000 bat fatalities caused
by collisions with cars.
Dr
Fiona Mathews, Associate Professor of Mammalian Biology at the
University of Exeter, said: “There has already been concern about roads
severing the commuting routes of bats. Our research has now shown that
road fatalities are also an important issue, particularly when rarer
species such as barbastelle and horseshoe bats are affected. Because bats and their habitat are now highly protected throughout
Europe, we might think that there is no cause for concern and there has
been widespread media interest in the public money spent on ‘bat
bridges’ and acoustic surveys for bats. Unfortunately these measures are
often more of a box-ticking exercise than a means of offering real
protection. We know from our research that bat casualties are extremely
difficult to find on roads because of their small size: the true
collision rate will therefore be at least an order of magnitude larger
than that actually observed." Interestingly, the study found that male bats were considerably more
likely to be killed in collisions than females. Dr Mathews, who is who
is also chair of The Mammal Society said: “The males may be forced into
less favourable habitats near roads, as females tend to stick together
in breeding grounds in prime habitat. ” Read the paper here
Cleaning up decades of phosphorus pollution in lakes – Centre for
Ecology & Hydrology Phosphorus is the biggest cause of water quality degradation
worldwide, causing ‘dead zones’, toxic algal blooms, a loss of
biodiversity and increased health risks for plants, animals and humans
that come in contact with polluted waters. This threatens the loss of
economic and social benefits from freshwaters upon which society relies.
Now, in a series of studies published in a new special issue of Water
Research, leading scientists assess how geo-engineering in lakes can
control phosphorus pollution. After decades of run-off from agriculture, human sewage and
industrial practices, phosphorus has been stockpiled at an alarming rate
in lake bed sediments. The scale of the problem is daunting, and humans
are still pumping about 10 million tonnes of extra phosphorus into
freshwaters every year. Long-term monitoring activities following the control of phosphorus sources to lakes show that plants and animals don’t recover for many years. This is because phosphorus stored in bed sediments is released back to the water column. Society then has to make a decision – either speed up recovery using geo-engineering to cap sediment phosphorus stores, or do nothing, and accept poor quality freshwaters for decades to come.
Intrepid water vole travels 7km and takes a selfie – South Downs
National Park Authority The UK’s largest ever water vole release is being hailed a success as
evidence shows the rare animals are once again established on the River
Meon in Hampshire.
Once
a common sight in the area, water voles had been locally extinct in the
Meon Valley for at least ten years. Now, thanks to a joint project led
by the South Downs National Park Authority, the Environment Agency,
Natural England and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, the
UK’s most rapidly declining mammal is making a comeback. Image: South Downs NPA Since the project began in 2013 more than 1,500 water voles have been
released at 10 sites along the river valley starting at Hampshire County
Council’s site at Tichfield Haven near the river mouth and then
upstream. This is the best place to visit for people hoping to spot
water voles. South Downs National Park rangers and volunteers have been monitoring
the water vole’s progress by carrying out surveys and using camera
traps. This shows that the animals have been moving into new territories
and breeding. Elaina Whitaker-Slark, Lead Ranger at the South Downs National Park,
said: “Our most intrepid water vole, we’re calling him Marco Vole-o, has
travelled about 7km from his original release site. We know this because
he took a ‘selfie’ on one of our camera traps.”
Scotland’s environment web named as one of the top five
- Keep Scotland Beautiful Scotland’s Environment Web – in which both SSN and Keep Scotland
Beautiful are partners - has been named as one of the top five Best of
LIFE projects by the European Commission. The LIFE programme is the EU’s
funding instrument for the environment and climate action. Scotland’s Environment Web was earlier this year selected as one of
the 24 ‘Best LIFE Environment Projects’ out of a total of 113 projects
that finished and were evaluated in 2015. Five of the 24 Best projects
went on to be awarded the
‘Best of the Best’ at an awards ceremony on 31 May, during EU Green
Week. The
Scotland’s Environment Web project aims to present a wide view of
Scotland’s environment, through a website that brings together data and
information as well as expertise from a number of organisations into a
single centralised “gateway to everything you want to know about
Scotland’s Environment”.
Department decides against introduction of red squirrels
- Isle of Man Government Red squirrels will not be introduced to the Manx countryside in the
immediate future. At present, red squirrels can’t be brought to the Island except under
licence and any licensed keeper can’t allow them to roam free. The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) consulted
the public over a law change that would have allowed consideration of
red squirrels’ introduction to the wild. The consultation attracted 107 responses, many individuals favouring
the idea. However, after studying all the views submitted, and
given the strong opinions of the scientific organisations and groups who
responded, DEFA concluded that it would be detrimental to the
countryside to introduce them. UK experts stated that the red squirrel isn’t in danger of extinction
in the UK and see no scientific basis for creating a refuge for it. They
therefore didn’t support its introduction to the Island.
Is the UK set for a humming-bird summer? -
Butterfly Conservation Wildlife lovers are being asked to check their gardens for
humming-birds in a bid to find out if one of the world’s most striking
moths is attempting to colonise the UK. The unmistakeable Humming-bird Hawk-moth, which is found on the
Continent, beats its wings 80 times per-second, which allows it to hover
with humming-bird like precision over flower heads. Typically only a summer visitor to the UK, in recent years the
warming climate has seen the day-flying moth successfully overwinter in
greenhouses and sheltered locations in South West England. There have been large influxes of the moth in 2000, 2006 and 2011 and
hopes are high that 2016 could witness another ‘hummer summer’ as the
long-distance migrant attempts to gain a foothold in the UK.
Humming-bird
Hawk moth (image: Bob Eade, Butterfly Conservation) As part of this year’s Moth Night celebrations organisers Butterfly
Conservation and Atropos are asking the public to look out for the
Humming-bird Hawk-moth in order to build a clearer picture of its UK
distribution. Mark Tunmore, editor of Atropos, said: “June is a particularly
colourful time of year for moths with some of our most colourful and
spectacular species on the wing and high levels of diversity. It’s a
great time to get out into the garden and see what is flying at night or
by day. In recent weeks there has been a huge influx of the tiny but
distinctive Diamond-back Moth into the British Isles, which has flown in
from the Continent and is being seen as far as the Northern Isles. This
moth can be disturbed easily by day from long grass or attracted to
light and could be seen anywhere over the Moth Night period.” Moth Night 2016 runs from 9 to 11 June and will include moth trapping
events across the UK.
Recognition of links between health and natural environment welcomed
- Scottish Wildlife Trust The Trust has welcomed a statement by Alison Johnstone MSP, made
during a recent debate on health in the Scottish Parliament,
highlighting that more can be done to improve people’s well-being by
increasing access to nature. During the debate she said: "There is good evidence that green spaces
and closer contact with nature can have a measurable benefit on people’s
mental health and physical well-being. The Scottish Wildlife Trust
is right to emphasise that people who are connected with their natural
environment are healthier and happier. I support the Trust in its
request that the Government should invest more in nature.” The Trust’s Head of Policy Maggie Keegan added: “Many MSPs made the
link between increased exercise and better health and well-being in the
debate. What we now need is wider recognition of the fact that people
who are connected with the natural environment are both happier and
healthier. Less than 1.5% of the Scottish budget is invested in the
natural environment, but increased access to high-quality green space
can help tackle obesity, reduce health inequalities, and also ensure
that children get the best start in life wherever they live. It
should be a priority for the Scottish Government to commit to a smarter
allocation of resources and better use of incentives regarding
Scotland’s natural capital to ensure everyone in Scotland can enjoy the
benefits that nature provides.” Read the Trust's briefing on Delivering
a Healthier Scotland
European forest trees show high levels of biodiversity within one tree
species - European Commission EU researchers have found that a single tree species may perform many
different ecosystem activities, meaning that biodiversity is both
between and within species. Discovering how forest tree ecosystems function is crucial to both
predicting how they might respond to climate change and to drawing up
forest management plans. It is also key to the EU Forest Action Plan’s
objective to maintain and enhance biodiversity, carbon absorption, and
the health and resilience of forest ecosystems. One
EU-funded project, DIVERFOR, has focussed on European forests which,
when compared to forest regions in other areas of the world, are
considered to have a relatively low range of different species.
The project found that individual trees in a single tree species can
have high levels of functional biodiversity, meaning they may perform a
diverse range of ecosystem activities. These activities include nutrient
cycling, climate regulation, timber production, protection against
erosion, and recreation.
Metal exposure – a factor in bat population decline
- University of York Scientists at the University of York have led the first full-scale
national assessment of metal contamination in bats, showing that many
bats in the UK contain levels of metals high enough to cause toxic
effects
Common
Pipistrelle bat image (via University of York, credit: JP, Flickr) With bat species across the world in decline, exposure to chemicals
is one of many potential threats to the species, along with
urbanisation, loss of habitats, decline in food and water, agricultural
intensification and climate change. Metals are present in a wide
range of habitats, with a large number of land sites in the UK remaining
contaminated since the industrial revolution. Records show areas that
were once extensively mined, such as the Pennines, still contain high
concentrations of metal deposits. Soil-associated metals are
accumulated by invertebrates and plants which then move along the food
chain into the bat species. However, the potential risks of metal in
bats has, until now, been poorly understood. Bat organs and tissues from Pipistrelles found dead were analysed for
a range of metals and the results compared to levels known to cause
toxic effects in mammals. Approximately 21 percent of bats sampled contained residues of at
least one metal at concentrations high enough to elicit toxic effects,
such as kidney damage. Lead was found to pose the greatest risk, as
seven to 11 percent of bats sampled had levels of lead above the toxic
threshold for this metal in small mammals. Copper, zinc and
cadmium was also prevalent in bat tissue, with levels often above the
upper levels measured in other mammal species. Professor Alistair Boxall, who supervised PhD researcher Dr Hernout,
said: “The percentage of bats in which concentrations of metals exceeded
toxic thresholds suggest that a significant proportion of the bat
population in England and Wales may be affected by metal exposure." Access the paper: Béatrice V. Hernout,
Kathryn E. Arnold, Colin J. McClean, Michael Walls, Malcolm Baxter,
Alistair B.A. Boxall,
A national level assessment of metal contamination in bats,
Environmental Pollution, Volume 214, July 2016, Pages 847-858, ISSN
0269-7491, DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2016.04.079.
Scottish pine martens reviving Welsh cousins' fortunes
- Forestry Commission Scotland An ambitious project to revive the dwindling pine marten population
in Wales has got off to a good start, with help from Forest Enterprise
Scotland (FES).
Last year the FES team in Inverness, Ross and Skye helped The Vincent
Wildlife Trust to capture twenty pine martens, which were then
transported to Wales as part of the Trust’s six-year ‘Pine Marten
Recovery Project’. Released into the Welsh countryside towards the end of 2015, at least
three of the ten females captured have recently given birth. Giles Brockman for the Inverness team, said; “The pine marten carries
the title of Britain’s second rarest carnivore after the wildcat, so
these births in Wales are excellent news. These amazing animals are
comparatively common in Scotland compared with Wales, where they were on
the point of being extinct. In fact our research into these animals on
the national forest estate indicates that there are healthy populations
in many forests. Conservation is a big part of our remit so once The
Trust had obtained the correct licence from SNH we were more than happy
to help and to donate some of our pine martens to the project and help
them take their plans forward." The animals were released in woodland owned by Natural Resources
Wales and their behaviour was radio tracked daily. Behavioural changes
indicated that birthing might be imminent and images from remote cameras
have now confirmed that at least five kits have been born. To consolidate this early success, a further twenty pine martens will
be translocated from Scotland in the autumn of this year, which should
help establish a viable population that over time will spread to other
forests of Wales and across the border into England.
Want to attract Goldfinches? Sunflower hearts are the answer!
- BTO
Goldfinch
on feeders by Josie Latus Goldfinches are being seen at garden bird feeders in ever-greater
numbers, and the key attraction for them is sunflower hearts, according
to an investigation into the increase of this colourful garden visitor.
Between November 2015 and February 2016 an amazing 5,183 households
across Britain and Ireland took part in the British Trust for
Ornithology’s Goldfinch Feeding Survey to help determine this result. As a nation we put out a staggering amount of bird food in our
gardens every year, but we know little about how this affects bird
populations on a national scale. New work by the BTO is attempting to
answer these questions by investigating the recent increase in Goldfinch
numbers, a bird that is making greater use of garden feeding stations.
Over the winter of 2015/16 the public were asked to watch their garden
bird feeders and report what foods Goldfinches were choosing, to help
determine what it is that attracts these birds into our gardens. With record numbers of Goldfinches being seen in gardens over the
winter, it seemed like fate that this was the winter chosen to run a
survey to investigate whether supplementary feeding in gardens could be
behind their increasing population. An average of eight Goldfinches at a
time were seen per household during the survey, highlighting the fact
that this colourful bird is being reported by 70% more BTO Garden
BirdWatch participants than twenty years ago. The preliminary Goldfinch Feeding Survey results reveal that
Goldfinches appear to prefer feeding on the supplementary food that we
provide to the natural foods available in gardens. Sunflower hearts were
overwhelmingly the preferred option, with nyger seed coming second.
Natural foods were also taken, however, with teasel and thistle the
favourites.
Scientific Publications Andrew D. Barnes et al.
Species richness and biomass explain spatial turnover in ecosystem
functioning across tropical and temperate ecosystems, Philosophical
Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2016). DOI:
10.1098/rstb.2015.0279 Holzschuh, J. A. & Deutschlander, M. E. (2016)
Do
migratory warblers carry excess fuel reserves during migration for
insurance or for breeding purposes? The Auk. DOI:
10.1642/AUK-15-141.1 Larson, D. M., Dodds, W. K., Whiles, M. R., Fulgoni, J. N. & Thompson
T. R. (2016)
A before-and-after assessment of patch-burn grazing and riparian fencing
along headwater streams. Journal of Applied Ecology.
DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12692
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