Help save Loxley & Wadsley Common

[pininsho]

But the soil on the Commons is alkaline!

 

Where have you got this totally wrong information from?

Try growing heather in alkaline soils and see what happens.

There is very little alkaline soil naturally occuring in Sheffield. You have to go out to the southern Peak District (Castleton's a good example with all its caves) before you come to alkaline soil which exists because of the Limestone bedrock.

[pininsho]

This is news to me. I always thought that acid soils characterise lowland heath. Certainly, the heather and bilberry that are found on the commons prefer acid soil. The council website (see http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/index.asp?pgid=19887) seems to support this view:

 

"Loxley and Wadsley Common. This is an area of lowland heath in the west of the city designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (S.S.S.I.) and a Local Nature Reserve. This type of habitat is unusual for Northern England and consists of a mixture of heathland, woodland and open acid grassland".

 

But it seems to me that the pH of the soil is of less importance than the preservation of biodiversity and the maintenance of a suitable environment for all who have a stake in the commons - people, flora and fauna. Whilst I personally prefer things to be as natural as possible, and there might well be a danger of over-management, I think that suitable, restrained management of the commons is probably the best all-round policy. It may be that limiting the tree cover is a suitable policy to pursue, but as long as there are some areas of woodland, this will maintain the diversity.

 

I'd like to know what % of the total tree population 2800 trees is that are to be felled.

[hillsbro]

I'd like to know what % of the total tree population 2800 trees is that are to be felled.

 

Me, too. And so far, nobody on the thread has come up with a figure, so that we can see what effect felling 2,800 trees will have on the woodland-to-heath ratio. I can't believe that the powers that be will want to remove most or all of the the trees; more likely they want to restore some of the heathland that has been lost. This would help preserve the increasingly scarce "lowland heath" ecology, and also perhaps restore the formerly fine views over the valley that are now masked by trees. Exactly how to encourage more heathland is something that only an expert could say. Clearly, just felling trees won't be enough, if it just allows more space for the bracken.

[The Chavs]

People need to research into such things before, raising posts with out the knowledge of what the conservation plan is

 

This forum is a great way to find information out....I stated before I'd looked on the council/forestry website in relation to this felling and couldnt find anything out. I openly admit I do not know much about this type of thing but from the people who have posted I have seen lots of useful information that has made me stand back and think about whats happening more. When I first saw the leaflet (as per OP) I was in shock as it seemed very drastic action.

 

Was the common managed 30 years ago. Growing up in the area I cant remember trees being cut down or anything. All the paths were created naturally (not like now) and the views were great. When did it start being managed?

[sanman]

This is an extract from a briefing paper regarding the work on the common.

 

Management Works

 

Lowland Heath is not woodland, but can contain wooded areas. In managing the site as a lowland heath it is appropriate to remove some trees. A mixture of felling and coppicing has taken place. On Wadsley and Loxley common very few trees existed 50 years ago, even when all the works are implemented a good deal of Lowland Heath will have been lost and additional wooded areas will have been created. The total number of trees removed to date and upon completion of the planned works is a small proportion of the total number of tree on the site.

 

Heather is adapted to low nutrient environments, individual plants are slow growing and live for 30-60 years. It is the dominant plant of lowland and upland heaths. If the heather is not managed, the heather becomes straggly and senescent. Regular management is the key to maintaining low nutrients, preventing succession and the suitability of Heathland for many of its dependent species. Three main heather management practices can be used:

• Burning

• Grazing

• Mowing

Ideal long-term sustainable management of a Heathland site would involve a combination of burning and grazing (RSPB 2006).

 

During the consultation the consensus was that grazing was felt to be inappropriate for the site, therefore cutting using a forage harvester was the approved option – a means of mechanical grazing. Prior to this work, the removal of excess trees was necessary.

 

In order to limit the impact on birds, works are planned to take place out of the nesting season and in different areas of the site in different years. Some of the work planned for 2006 was to alleviate shading of the Bilberry bushes at Loxley edge, which yield berries providing an important source of food for wildlife. The removal of invasive Birch also opens views from the site which people who took part in the consultation suggested would be desirable. This is just one example of how the ecological and social information has been listened to and integrated into our planned works.

 

Much of the work in the early stages of the plan has been the removal of trees, which can appear 'destructive’. Predictably other vegetation has grown up in its place, which is to be expected and the programmed works are planned with this in mind. It is necessary to allow areas to grow after felling so that we can see what seeds are present in the soil and for those plants to be dealt with appropriately. As the notices placed on the commons describe, the areas felled in the past few seasons are now at the point where they can be sprayed and/or burned prior to reseeding or recolonisation. Thereby the plan in those areas enters a more 'creative/ constructive' phase. Of course as we deal with the positive re-vegetation of areas previously felled, new areas will be cleared of trees thereby year on year the cycle of management moves forward. Clearly as natural succession has been allowed to progress on the Commons for a considerable number of years, it is unreasonable to expect completed results at this early stage of the management plan implementation. However, over the coming years the positive results will be much more evident.

 

Why management is good for diversity.

 

Lowland heath is a scarce habitat in Sheffield. It is also a fragile habitat that cannot be destroyed and then put back, it also has a range of associated animals and plants. These include Western gorse and linnet, both identified as Species of Conservation Concern, the linnet is also designated as a Priority Species. Three species of moss which are noted as scarce in the South Yorkshire area. The hybrid bilberry (Vaccinium x intermedium) is also noted on the common. A number of the invertebrates recorded here are only associated with this type of Heathland e.g. Green tiger beetle (a BAP species). Its thought that adder may be present. This is a Grade A Local Red Data Book species. Common Lizard is also present listed in 1996 on the IUCN's red list. There are 11 species of bird that are on various registers for their scarcity and the fact they are declining. The common is ideal habitat for Nightjar a UK BAP priority species which have been known to have bred here in the past. They have returned in very low numbers to a similar site in Sheffield (Wharncliffe Heath also an LNR). Three species of beetle notable for South Yorkshire are also recorded here, along with badgers and brown hare (a UK BAP priority species).

 

The commons is a very biodiversity rich habitat, with potential to improve with appropriate management. These benefits will be lost if it were simply allowed to become woodland.

 

 

Integrating the management of the site with wider issues

 

The trees that were cut in the early 2006 felling season have now for the most part been removed having. They will be processed into bio-fuel by a company called Silvapower for use as a renewable energy source. Silvapower’s customers are varied, a biofuel boiler has been fitted to some of the flats in the Gleadless Valley area of the city in order to provide a renewable form of heating thereby helping to reduce climate change.

[gularscute]

Maybe a bit of management to preserve biodiversity is a good thing but if they really are going to cut down 2800 trees that's far too many. The common is a precious place and great care should be taken with it.

[pininsho]

Thanks for that information Sanman. I hope this puts people's minds at rest.

I do seem to recall some controversy a few years ago that there were so many dogs being walked on the common that their excrement was drastically increasing the nutrient levels in the soil making it easier for trees and bracken to take hold rather than heather which requires generally poorer soils.

Whether this was true or just a cunning plan by the council to stop the dog walkers so they could fence the common off and use sheep to graze the area as a cost effective (cheap) option, I'll let you decide.

[pininsho]

Maybe a bit of management to preserve biodiversity is a good thing but if they really are going to cut down 2800 trees that's far too many. The common is a precious place and great care should be taken with it.

 

My guess is that 2800 trees will turn out to be a relatively small number. I would guess it's probably about 1/4 of the total but I stand to be corrected.

[Grahame]

Thanks for that information Sanman. I hope this puts people's minds at rest.

I do seem to recall some controversy a few years ago that there were so many dogs being walked on the common that their excrement was drastically increasing the nutrient levels in the soil making it easier for trees and bracken to take hold rather than heather which requires generally poorer soils.

Whether this was true or just a cunning plan by the council to stop the dog walkers so they could fence the common off and use sheep to graze the area as a cost effective (cheap) option, I'll let you decide.

 

People and dogs could still have used the common but the dogs would need to be kept on a lead. The dog-walkers protested, but having sheep on the common would have been the natural answer.

[sanman]

I also think that grazing on the common is probably the best way forward. After all common land was for that very purpose.