When I think of the uplands of England, my mind usually heads north. So I enjoyed a couple of days a fortnight ago experiencing the southern uplands on Dartmoor. The visit was a chance to catch up with research our team is doing with others (Exeter University, Dartmoor National Park Authority, Natural England and Devon Birds) to diagnose the reasons for the major declines in summer migrants including cuckoo, whinchat, wood warbler and pied flycatcher.
John Bridges' image of a cuckoo (rspb-images.com) and cuckoo breeding distribution maps from Devon Bird Atlas (bottom left 1988, top right 2007-13) showing a massive contraction in range
The uplands of the south west are the same but different from those in the north. The habitats are familiar - blanket bog, heather and grass moors with deep wooded valleys - but Dartmoor (shown below) has its own distinctive cultural heritage, land use and wildlife to match. There is no driven grouse shooting down south but there are still plenty of challenges such as managing levels of grazing, swaling (a Devonian term for the tradition of burning gorse), and lots and lots of visitors.
The significance of Dartmoor to the wildlife of the Devon was highlighted with the publication last year of the Devon Bird Atlas. Many species’ ranges (like cuckoo and whinchat) have retreated to Dartmoor – at 954 square kilometres it is the largest chunk of semi-natural habitat in the county. These trends are reflected across the UK through volunteer surveys such as the Breeding Bird Survey and the Bird Atlas for Britain and Ireland published last year. This is why the RSPB will be giving more attention to the suite of species associated with the uplands over the next few years.
The uplands arguably are where we can make big conservation gains to live up to the Lawtonian* mantra of more, bigger, better and connected protected areas. We have been surprised and delighted by the speed of recovery of upland species on back of restoration activity. For example, through the Sustainable Catchment Management Project (SCaMP) with our partner United Utilities in the Peak District, we have done a huge amount to restore the peatlands especially through blocking drains and getting the right grazing in place. The conservation response has been really impressive leading increases in moorland breeding waders of conservation concern including dunlin which experienced a 775% increase in a decade. This landscape-scale approach to habitat restoration has benefitted a diverse range of bird species, from red grouse to buzzards. The SCaMP study provides strong evidence of the potential to transform damaged ecosystems. Across the wider English uplands, over 200,000 ha of blanket bog is in need of restoration. To achieve this, it has been estimated it will require annual capital costs of around £27 million for six years. With investment, there is the potential to secure future benefits for wildlife, carbon, water and people.
There is similar opportunity on Dartmoor, which has 8,500 hectares of blanket bog alongside other important habitats such as valley mires, upland heath and its wonderful woodlands. Nature needs scale and heterogeneity to flourish. Dartmoor can provide this. What we must provide is the ambition and wherewithal to make it happen. And this becomes a test of the promised 25 year plan for environment. What measures will be included in the plan to benefit Dartmoor's people and wildlife? Will there be new incentives to drive the changes we need to restore habitats and protect species? Will there be new obligations and resources for organisations to work together to reconcile their competing priorities? Will there be regular monitoring, reporting and scrutiny to assess progress?
Because of the growing importance of Dartmoor to the wildlife of Devon, attention is increasingly focused on the major landowners such as the Duchy of Cornwall, the National Park authority, South West Water but also the Commoners that have the rights to graze more than a third of the Park. We need these key players to work with charities like the RSPB and Devon Wildlife Trust to rally around an exciting vision for the future for Dartmoor, with wildlife at its heart, and then to work hard to make it happen. Get it right, and then we will have done our bit for threatened wildlife of Devon including those summer migrants where improved breeding success can buy us time while we work with others to fix problems across their flyway.
One final thought, as today is international biodiversity day, whether on Dartmoor or elsewhere I hope you get out to see some wildlife.
*I refer, of course, to Professor Sir John Lawton and his seminal report, Making Space for Nature
Andy Hay's image of a wood warbler in Dartmoor (rspb-images.com)
Thanks Alan, I'll look into it.