This is a guest blog from Nick Crouch, author of the recently published State of Nature in Sherwood Report. Nick explains about the report below and some of its main findings:
I have just finished authoring a State of Nature in Sherwood report, on behalf of the Sherwood Habitats Strategy Group. The report sets out the extent (and where information is available, condition) of designated sites and habitats in Sherwood, and also provides information about a range of ‘special’ species which are particularly notable or otherwise characteristic of the area.
Compared with the Sherwood of a few generations ago, it is clear that the Sherwood of today is much diminished from a wildlife perspective, with the loss of extensive areas of habitat to farmland and forestry, and the decline or extinction of a range of species. However, hard data to back this up with is hard to come by; nevertheless, it is apparent that we have just a third of the heathland we had around 100 years ago, and where Sherwood once held five species of fritillary butterfly it now holds none.
The main purpose of the report is to provide a description of nature in Sherwood in the year 2015, against which the status and condition of the nature can be measured in future years. Headlines for 2015 include:
Just 2% of Sherwood is now covered by heathland or acid grassland – the dominant land uses are arable farmland and commercial forestry.
Whilst we know what Sherwood’s important habitats are (and to a large degree where they are located), information about the extent of these is in some cases lacking – for example, we don’t know how much characteristic oak-birch woodland there is in Sherwood.
There is little information about the condition of key habitats in Sherwood outside of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) – whether these are in good condition, or whether they are declining.
None of Sherwood’s rivers reach ‘good’ status, although there have been improvements in water quality in recent years on the back of the Water Framework Directive.
As well as being important for well-known groups like birds, Sherwood is very important for a range of invertebrates, as well as fungi and lichens .
A number of notable species, such as Hazel Pot Beetle and Welsh Clearwing moth, have been discovered (or re-discovered) in Sherwood in recent years, but others remain rare or have even been lost, such as Adder.
We live in an ever-changing world, and Sherwood is not immune to these changes. Some, like the restoration of colliery pit tips to heathland, are positive changes that bring about large areas of new habitat. Others, however, like climate change, the arrival of new tree pests and diseases, expansion of invasive species, and pressures from development and recreation, all pose real risks to Sherwood’s habitats and species. Hopefully, future updates of the State of Nature in Sherwood will demonstrate that conservation action has ensured that Sherwood not only remains a special place for nature, but that there is more characteristic habitat, in better condition, supporting healthy populations of Sherwood’s special species.
The report is available as a pdf in the hyperlink above and on the Nottinghamshire Biodiversity Action Group's website http://www.nottsbag.org.uk/pdfs/SoNiS-publishedMay2016.pdf
Nick Crouch
Ecologist, Nottinghamshire County Council