Offers a source of detailed information on techniques for restoring, maintaining and monitoring lowland heathland habitats, a landscape that has been in decline for decades, with many vulnerable species. This guide covers a range of management issues affecting dry heath, wet heath, mire and associated grassland and open water habitats in Britain.
Grassland and Heathland Habitats is a practical guide to the habitat types, flora and fauna of Britain's range of natural and semi-natural grasslands and heaths.
This practical handbook describes the principles and techniques of managing and creating habitats worldwide including grasslands, forests, scrub, freshwater wetlands, coastal habitats, arable land, urban areas and gardens. Essential reading for conservation biologists and an invaluable resource for all those involved in conservation land management.
This book has been published as part of a major conference held in Sheffield UK, on the theme of 'Animals, Man and Treescapes' which looked at the interactions between grazing animals, humans and wooded landscapes. It linked community projects and educational outputs throughout the UK, across Europe and beyond. The event promoted landscape ecology conservation through local, national and international initiatives.
Following the destruction of 95% of meadows during the twentieth century, there is an urgent need to understand what little unspoiled habitat remains in order to plan the management and restoration of existing sites, as well as re-creating future grassland habitats. This book is a much-needed guide to grassland restoration and management. Providing a thorough overview of recent research on grassland restoration and its implications for practical grassland restoration and management, it introduces grassland communities and the wildlife they support, including examples of species of conservation concern, and considers the management of semi-natural grassland habitats with particular emphasis on drier grassland habitats. Chapters cover: - Grassland character and communities - Introduction to grassland wildlife - Managing semi-natural grassland - Grassland restoration – threats and challenges - Opportunities in grassland restoration - Plant material for grassland restoration - Defining success in grassland restoration. A variety of management techniques are examined, including soil amendment, cultivation, harvesting and maintenance in creating suitable conditions for the successful restoration of species-rich grasslands. It is essential reading for conservationists, site owners or managers, practitioners, conservation organizations and students of ecological restoration with an interest in the creation of new grassland habitats, the restoration of semi-natural grassland, as well as the continuing management of semi-natural (unimproved) grassland communities.
The threats from global cultural change and abandonment of traditional landscape management increased in the last half of the twentieth century and ten years into the twenty-first century show no signs of slowing down. Their impacts on global biodiversity and on people disconnected from their traditional landscapes pose real and serious economic and social problems which need to be addressed now. The End of Tradition conference held in Sheffield, UK, was organised by Ian D. Rotherham and colleagues. It addressed the fundamental issues of whether we can conserve the biodiversity of wonderful and iconic landscapes and reconnect people to their natural environment. And, if we can, how can we do so and make them relevant for the twenty-first century. The book is in two parts: Part 1. A History of Commons and Commons Management and Part 2. Commons: Current Management and Problems.
'In Clive, we have an ever-fascinating guide to Britain's heathery districts, not only marvelling at the wildlife of such wild places, but also celebrating their diverse origins, uses and cultural resonances' - ANDREW BYFIELD Heathlands are so much more than simply purple carpets of heather. They are ancient landscapes found throughout Britain that support a complex of inter-related species and an immense diversity of habitats. They also possess a unique human history defined by the struggle between pastoralism and the competing demands of those who seek exclusive use of the land. In this latest addition to the British Wildlife Collection, Clive Chatters introduces us to Britain's heathlands and their anatomy. He then takes the reader on a geographical heathland tour – from the maritime sub-arctic of the Shetlands to the mild wetness of the Atlantic coast – with an in memoriam nod to those heaths that have been erased from common memory and understanding. He concludes with a review of how people have perceived and used heathland wildlife over the ages, and sets out a future vision for this iconic landscape, its unique habitats and the species that live there. Most of our heaths are pale shadows of their former selves. However, Chatters argues, it is not inevitable that the catastrophic losses of the recent past are the destiny of our remaining heaths. Should we wish, their place in the countryside as an integral part of British culture can be secured.
