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Headlines from week beginning 3 December 2018 |
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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
Gove sets out proposals for greener developments
- Defra The government is consulting on mandating biodiversity net gain in
development to ensure habitats are protected and enhanced for the
future. Government proposals to place the environment at the heart of new
development have been unveiled by Environment Secretary Michael Gove. In plans published today (2 December 2018) for consultation,
developers could be required to deliver a ‘biodiversity net gain’ when
building new housing or commercial development – meaning habitats for
wildlife must be enhanced and left in a measurably better state than
they were pre-development. The proposed new rules require developers to assess the type of
habitat and its condition before submitting plans. Car parks and
industrial sites would usually come lower on this scale, while more
natural grasslands and woodlands would be given a much higher ranking
for their environmental importance. Developers would then be required to demonstrate how they are
improving biodiversity – such as through the creation of green
corridors, planting more trees, or forming local nature spaces. Green
improvements on site would be encouraged, but in the rare circumstances
where they are not possible the consultation proposes to charge
developers a levy to pay for habitat creation or improvement elsewhere. These proposals would help to achieve better outcomes for nature and
people with the millions of pounds invested in environmental impact
mitigation by developers every year. While some developers have already been following a biodiversity net
gain approach voluntarily, the proposed standardised, mandatory approach
would give them clarity and certainty on how to improve the environment
through development, while also considering whether any sites – such as
small and brownfield sites – should be exempt from the rules. It will
still deliver the homes the country needs – making the Government’s
vision of delivering 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s a reality
– at the same time as contributing to the goal of passing on our
environment in a better condition.
Largest i-Tree Eco survey in UK highlights the £33million annual value
of Greater Manchester’s trees to the economy & that 1million trees are
at risk - Manchester City of Trees City of Trees has completed the biggest i-Tree Eco survey outside the
United States.
Data has been collected from more than 6,000 trees across Greater
Manchester by a team of 57 surveyors who visited nearly 2,000 plots – to
help calculate the environmental and economic benefits that trees
provide, as well as highlight any risks to tree health. The results show that there are an estimated 11,321,386 trees with
15.7 per cent of Greater Manchester beneath tree canopy. The data also highlights that approx. 1 million trees are in danger
of being lost in Greater Manchester due to pests and diseases such as
Ash Dieback and Horse Chestnut Bleeding Canker. Greater Manchester’s trees act as a filtration system for harmful air
pollutants – removing 847 tonnes of pollutants each year. They assist with excessive storm water, intercepting 1,644,415 cubic
metres of storm water run-off per year. Added to this they sequester 56,530 tonnes of carbon each year and
the current carbon of all the trees in the region is 1,573,015 tonnes. The total annual economic value of air pollution filtration,
stormwater attenuation and carbon sequestration in Greater Manchester’s
trees is £33,298,891.
‘Payment by results’ farm pilots a ‘success’
– Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority
Figures and analysis revealed at a farming conference in the
Yorkshire Dales this week (wb 26 Nov) have suggested that a payment by
results approach to agri-environment schemes can produce ‘amazing’
environmental enhancements and strengthen trust between farmers and
government agencies. Held at the Key Centre in Middleham, the conference marked the end of
a three year EU-funded project to test the payment by results approach
in Wensleydale and in Norfolk – although the government has since
stepped in to directly fund the pilots for a further two years. One of the key findings announced at the event was that hay meadows
and wader habitat in the Wensleydale pilot had performed better that
those in conventional agri-environment schemes. A panel of four local farmers spoke at the conference in support of
the payment by results approach. And one of the senior civil
servants at Defra tasked with designing a new post-Brexit Environmental
Land Management system, James Le Page, told the127 delegates that Defra
was “really interested” to explore the potential for expanding on the
model.
Business and community leaders mark first anniversary of environmental
partnership – New Forest National Park
Authority A partnership looking to boost the natural environment by putting it
at the heart of decisions about the environment, economy and communities
has marked its first anniversary. One of the first of its kind in the UK, the Green Halo Partnership
brings together organisations from across central southern England to
protect and enhance our ‘natural capital’. This is the term given to the
benefits we derive from nature such as clean air and water, protection
from flooding, food and healthy outdoor activities. More than 70 representatives from dozens of Green Halo partner
organisations attended a conference at Ordnance Survey, Southampton on
Tuesday 27 November to mark a successful first year. The partnership has received wide ranging support over the last 12
months, with architects, wildlife charities, councils, utility
businesses, health bodies, universities and civil engineering firms
among 70 organisations signed up so far.
Set your teeth on EDGE: world’s weirdest sharks and rays on the brink of
extinction – ZSL From guitarfish to angel sharks the EDGE of Existence highlights the
most ancient fish sinking into extinction
Sharks that use a whip-like tail to stun their prey, rays with saws
on their faces, and river rays half the length of a bus are among the
most unique species at risk of extinction according to the latest
ranking from our pioneering EDGE of Existence programme. The new
list revealed today (Monday 3 Dec) ranks the world’s 50 most
Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) sharks, rays and
chimeras – known collectively as Chondrichthyes. These mythical-sounding (but very real) creatures have no bones in
their bodies, only cartilage and appeared more than 400 million years
ago, roaming the seas when dinosaurs lived. Each species on this list
has few or no remaining close relatives, effectively representing
distinct branches of the tree of life and making each of them truly
irreplaceable. If they go extinct, we will have nothing like them left
on the planet. Topping the new list, at number one is the largetooth sawfish (Pristis
pristis), which also holds the distinction of being the
highest-ranking EDGE species in the world. Using an elongated snout
(rostrum) lined with teeth on each side to slash at its prey, the
large-tooth sawfish is facing threats from unsustainable fishing
activities as it’s often caught as by-catch in nets.
Prescribed burning not as damaging as previously thought
– University of Liverpool
In a study published in Nature Geoscience, scientists analysed data
from a long-term ecological experiment at Moor House National Nature
Reserve which contained areas of moorland that only been burned in
1954, or since 1954 had burned either every ten or every twenty years.
These were compared with “control” areas unburned since the 1920s. Analysis of changes in vegetation composition, led by Emeritus
Professor Rob Marrs from the University’s Department of Earth, Oceans &
Ecological Sciences, found that the areas which hadn’t been subjected to
any prescribed burns were dominated by heather, and other low-level,
peat-forming species, and contained less good peat-forming species such
as Sphagnum mosses and cotton grasses. New stratigraphical data collected on the rate of peat and carbon
accumulation led by Professor Richard Chiverrell from the
University’s Department of Geography & Planning measured numerous peat
profiles sampled from the different prescribed burn areas. Professor Chiverrell said: “This is first time that stratigraphical
techniques have been used within the structure of a designed experiment.
Our data show only limited reduction of peat and carbon accumulation
with increased burning treatments. Crucially, there was continued peat
and carbon accumulation even in the areas that had undergone the regime
of most frequent burning.” The paper ‘Experimental evidence for sustained carbon sequestration in fire-managed, peat moorlands’ is published on 3rd December 2018 in Nature Geoscience (doi: 10.1038/s41561-018-0266-6.)
Women encouraged to apply for hi-tech conservation opportunities
– Forestry Commission Scotland Forest Enterprise Scotland (FES) is getting behind a Scottish
Government drive to attract more women into the technology and science
sectors. The move, which offers four hi-tech and science based placements, is
part of a national effort to address the gender imbalance in the
workplace, and will also boost the career prospects for the four
successful applicants. Rural Economy Secretary, Fergus Ewing said: “People with science,
technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills are increasingly
in demand amongst a wide range of employers. Forestry is no different.
Modern forestry is a hi-tech industry that offers fantastic
opportunities to develop skills in a number of challenging technical
roles. However, only around 25 per cent of STEM jobs are filled by
women, so there is clearly a latent pool of technical talent, creative
thinking and new perspectives that could be tapped to help Scotland stay
at the forefront of innovation.” The three-month placements will see three successful candidates work
on data science projects with FES’s Geographical Information Systems
(GIS) team, which uses state-of-the-art technology to support forestry
and land management operations across the country. A fourth successful candidate will work with the lead ecologist in FES supporting high profile species conservation work.
New trees to breathe fresh life into fire and drought ravaged moorland
– Woodland Trust More than 5,500 trees will be planted as a site
continues its rebirth following a summer of devastating wild fires and
drought. The Woodland Trust was gamely assisted by troops of volunteers and
firefighters as they battled the fire by land and by air at the
Smithills Estate (1,700 acres). But sadly a third of the site was
damaged with dozens of species – such as brown hares and common lizards
- pushed out or incinerated if they could not flee in time. Coupled with this, the site also suffered one of its biggest ever
droughts putting extra strains on the ecosystem. Chris Waterfield, general manager at the site said: “The fire seems
like yesterday and when it hit, it was a massive state of emergency –
something that as a charity we had not handled before. We worked round
the clock with local services to bring it under control. Unfortunately
we did lose 2,000 trees to the flames and since then we have been busy
looking at how to restore the land and try and mitigate future
disasters. Planting these trees is another step as we help the land
recover from its troubled summer.”
UK-wide consortium to combat serious threat to plant health
- BBSRC The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Right Honourable Lord
Henley, announces funding for a major bacterial plant diseases research
programme supported by UK Research and Innovation’s Strategic Priorities
Fund.
(image: BBSRC) BRIGIT, a consortium co-ordinated by the John Innes Centre, will work
to enhance UK surveillance and response to Xylella fastidiosa.
BRIGIT brings together ten leading UK research organisations, in a
£4.85m programme aiming to improve methods of diagnosis and detection
of Xylella, to identify factors that could lead to its spread,
and to prepare to minimise the risk of the pathogen to the UK. The bacterial plant diseases programme is a £17.7m collaboration
between UK Research and Innovation Councils, the Biotechnology and
Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Natural Environment
Research Council (NERC) - together with the Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Scottish Government who are
providing £1.1m of additional funding. Professor Nicola Spence, Chief Plant Health Officer and Deputy
Director for plant and bee health at Defra said: “I am delighted that
UKRI, together with co-funders Defra and the Scottish Government, has
agreed to fund this crucial research which will help us to better
control bacterial plant diseases in the future. Protecting the UK’s
plants from pests and diseases remains one of my Department’s highest
priorities, and we need robust science to underpin our actions to combat
these threats. Xylella fastidiosa is one such bacterial disease
and will form the focus of the first phase of the research programme.
The knowledge gained through this programme should assist us in further
optimising our ongoing surveillance and ensure that our contingency
plans are underpinned by the most up-to-date evidence available.”
State of Birds in Wales 2018 - BTO Produced jointly by RSPB, BTO, Natural Resource Wales (NRW) and the
Welsh Ornithological Society (WOS) , this report provides a current
overview of the state of breeding and wintering bird populations in
Wales, as well as information about recent conservation initiatives. The State of Birds in Wales 2018 was published on 6 December 2018.
Chough by Jill Pakenham The Wales wild bird indicator, based on BBS results, tracks the
declines since 1994 in both lowland and upland farmland bird species, as
well as an upturn in woodland bird populations, the latter most notable
over the past seven years. Patterns of change A special feature of this report is a section called ‘Patterns of
change in Welsh birds’ in which key Wales-specific outputs of the
2007-11 Bird Atlas (Balmer et al. 2103) are highlighted. These include
measures of the importance of Wales in supporting the UK breeding
populations of Chough (76%), Pied Flycatcher (69%), Redstart (47%) and
Honey Buzzard (47%) as well as significant proportions of the UK
wintering populations of coastal species such Common Scoter and
Guillemot as well as rarer winter visitors such as Brambling and Great
Grey Shrike. Read the full report here
Towns and cities benefit the same animals and plants everywhere
- Natural History Museum Human habitat modifications are favouring the same species
everywhere, while unique species are disappearing, according to a new
paper. A study, published in PLOS Biology, was led by Dr Tim Newbold, a
research fellow at University College London (UCL), and Prof Andy
Purvis, a research leader at the Museum. It used data from 81 countries to show that when humans modify
natural habitats through farming, forestry or building, animals and
plants that are unique to particular locations decline, replaced by
those common to many places. For instance, pigeons and rats benefit from cities and farms all over
the world. Crucially, this pattern was seen in every kind of human land use -
not just arable farms or urban areas, but also pastures, plantation
forest and even land that is recovering from human use. The findings suggest a disruption to the healthy functioning of
ecosystems, which support our natural environment and are critical in
our efforts to grow food. Access the paper: Newbold T, Hudson LN, Contu S, Hill SLL, Beck J, et al. (2018) Widespread winners and narrow-ranged losers: Land use homogenizes biodiversity in local assemblages worldwide. PLOS Biology 16(12): e2006841.
Forestry Commission act on tree pest detected in Kent
- defra The tree pest eight-toothed spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus)
has been discovered in Kent Woodland managers, land owners, the forest industry and tree
nurseries that supply mature conifer specimens are being urged to remain
vigilant after the Forestry Commission identified a breeding population
of the eight-toothed spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) in Kent. This
was as part of routine surveillance activity.
The beetles have been discovered in a woodland setting, the
government contingency plan has been initiated and the Forestry
Commission has been designated the competent body for the outbreak. Movement restrictions have been served on-site to minimise the risk
of onward spread, while further investigations and surveillance of the
area is conducted. Adult beetles will be dormant and hibernating at this
time of year. The eight-toothed spruce bark beetle does not affect human health but
can be a serious and destructive pest of the spruce tree species across
Europe, although it generally prefers weakened or damaged trees. It has never been discovered in the wider environment in the UK
before. Smaller spruce trees (less than fifteen years old), including
domestic Christmas trees, are too small to be susceptible to infestation
and very unlikely to be affected by this finding.
Otter cub washed away by storm to be rehabilitated by RSPCA A thin otter cub suffering from hypothermia has been taken into RSPCA
care. The otter was found by a member of the public collapsed and very
unwell at the side of the busy A470 in Ganllwyd, Gwynedd, and was rushed
to a veterinary practice in Dolgellau.
RSPCA inspector Andy Broadbent said: “It is likely that the young
otter cub was washed away during the flooding following storm Diana and
ended up strung out at the roadside desperately in need of help. “I collected him from the vets and transferred him to RSPCA Stapeley
Grange Wildlife Centre who will continue with treatment and will
continue to monitor him closely. They will care for him until he is fit
and healthy when he will be released back into the wild where he belong
Support for collaborative woodland management
- Sylva From today (7/12), users of our myForest service can query resource
information across multiple properties which can help support
collaborative woodland management. Suited equally to woodland co-operatives or managers with multiple
clients, the new functionality aims to improve efficiency by enhancing
collaboration, with the main outcomes that more woodlands are managed
well, and more home-grown timber reaches the market. Most of Britain’s large plantation forests are managed as part of a
crop rotation, but there are many smaller woodlands across the country,
often part of mixed farms and estates under separate ownership, which
are not being managed as costs can be prohibitive at small scales. There can be distinct opportunities from scaling-up, such as:
combining timber volumes to meet a new market demand; mixing timber from
multiple small parcels to reduce haulage costs; or by undertaking
similar operations at the same time of year to reduce costs. However, it
can be complicated for agents managing data between clients, or for a
co-operative project knowing enough about the resources managed by
different members. The new collaborative woodland management functionality in myForest
aims to overcome these barriers by allowing users to query information
across multiple clients/members
Survey reveals bovine TB in a fifth of roadkill badgers in Cheshire
- University of Nottingham The first study to test for bovine tuberculosis in badgers on the
edge of the cattle TB epidemic in England, has shown that one in five
badgers tested positive for the disease. The pilot survey was carried out on road-killed badgers collected in
Cheshire in 2014 through a local stakeholder TB Group that included
farmers, wildlife groups and vets. Scientists from the Universities of
Nottingham, Liverpool and Lancaster tested the carcasses for the
bacteria that cause bovine TB, Mycobacterium bovis (M.bovis), and
found that around 20% were infected. Furthermore, the strain of M.bovis found in Cheshire badgers (SB0129
or genotype 25) was the same as that found in cattle in the same area.
The results of the study have been published today, Thursday
6th December 2018, in Scientific Reports. Although there have been several published studies of bovine TB (bTB)
in badgers in the South West of England, where the infection is endemic
in both cattle and badgers, this is the first study of infection in
badgers on the expanding edge of the cattle epidemic. Previous studies
in Cheshire, from between 10 and 30 years ago when bovine infection was
rare in the area, found only a few infected badgers in the south-east of
the county. However, while these findings strongly suggest that both badgers and
cattle were part of the same geographically expanding epidemic in
Cheshire, the direction of any cross-species transmission and the
drivers of this expansion cannot be determined from this study. Read the paper: Elsa Sandoval Barron
et al
A study of
tuberculosis in road traffic-killed badgers on the edge of the British
bovine TB epidemic area Scientific Reports volume 8,
Article number: 17206 (2018) doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-35652-5
Butterfly sets up in the city - Butterfly
Conservation A butterfly once restricted to a small part of Scotland is making a
comeback by expanding its range in the countryside and moving into
cities, wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation (BC) can reveal.
In the last five years the butterfly has colonised Edinburgh’s green
spaces and has recently moved into Aberdeen. The Speckled Wood has experienced an extraordinary 71% increase in
distribution and 84% increase in abundance across the UK in the last 40
years as a result of the warming climate. Anthony McCluskey, BC Scotland’s Urban Butterfly Project Officer,
said: “Until this year, the only sighting of a Speckled Wood in Aberdeen
was in 2015 at Hilton Woods, but now it’s been seen all over the city,
including south of the Dee at the Kincorth Hill Nature Reserve. “This is really exciting news because it’s now clear the butterfly
has become established here and Aberdonians can officially add a new
species of butterfly to the list of insects found flying throughout the
city.”
Scientific publications Donkersley, P. (2018)
Trees for bees. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. DOI:
10.1016/j.agee.2018.10.024 (Open access)
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CJS is not responsible for content of external sites. Details believed correct but given without prejudice. Disclaimer: the views expressed in these news pages do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of CJS. |
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Image:
Manchester City of Trees
Putting
farmers in control. A panel of Wensleydale farmers, all of whom have
been taking part in the RBAPS pilot, are introduced at the one-day
'payment by results' conference (Yorkshire Dales National Park
Authority)-Simon-Fraser-University-zsl.jpg)
Largetooth
sawfish © Simon Fraser University
New
research by the University has found that prescribed burning, a
controversial technique where fires are intentionally used to manage
vegetation, is not as damaging to peat growth as previously thought if
carried out on a sensible rotation, and can produce several positive
outcomes.
Winter
Hill in Bolton hit the headlines in July after a fire - thought to have
been lit by arsonists – ripped through moorland and trees.
The
first phase of this investment initiates a UK-wide consortium to prepare
for the possible introduction and spread of the devastating plant
pathogen Xylella fastidiosa into the UK.
This
report includes an update of the latest Wales BBS trends for terrestrial
and freshwater species, as well as the latest Wales WeBS trends for
wintering waders, wildfowl and other waterbirds. Notable among the BBS
results are the positive trajectories of Wales urban populations of
House Sparrow, Feral Pigeon and Collared Dove relative to in the UK
overall. Welsh House Martins are holding their own but Starlings are in
steep decline.
The
tree pest eight-toothed spruce bark beetles (Ips typographus) (image:
defra)
The
vets found the otter to be seriously hypothermic and dehydrated, but
luckily the vets managed to warm up and rehydrate the little otter,
which weighed just 1.3kg, before contacting RSPCA for assistance.
Just
50 years ago the Speckled Wood could only be found in small numbers on
the west coast and around Inverness, but since then, its population has
expanded rapidly.
