HB HR Flashcards
Habitat creation is defined as (3)
- involving human intervention in combination with natural factors operating over time
- natural colonisation from adjacent habitats, or assisting in the process by planting or translocating suitable plants and/or animals to the habitat
- a dynamic community of interacting plants and animals
Habitat restoration, as opposed to habitat creation, restores
existing degraded semi-natural vegetation
What are 6 Basic Principles of Habitat Creation and Restoration?
- plans should be flexible to allow for opportunities for further ecological enhancement, where possible.
- Larger blocks of fewer habitat types, yield a better result for wildlife.
- most successful in areas where the environment is still rich in wildlife, where there are opportunities for natural colonisation and there is a reservoir of species in the long-term.
- Natural regeneration should be encouraged where appropriate.
- Biodiversity should be the priority and amenity and other end uses should fit around the main biodiversity objective.
- needs to be sustainable in the long-term
What % of ponds have been lost in the last 50 years?
75%
What % of wildflower meadow have been lost since WWII?
97%
What % of heathlands have been lost since WWII?
75%
How much hedgerow has been lost since WWII?
200,000 km
How much ancient woodlands have been lost since WWII?
half
SPAs
Special Protection Areas
SANG
Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace
SAC
Special Areas of Conservation
Habitats can be created and restored for what reasons? (5)
- attract a diversity of species.
- enhance the ecological value of a site.
- reverse the historical loss of biodiverse habitats.
- reverse the loss of habitats, which were removed to large scale land extractions.
- mitigate and compensate for the adverse impacts caused by developments.
Which semi-natural re-creatable habitats can be created and restored? (9)
- Grasslands
- Scrub and Hedgerows
- Woodlands
- Ponds
- Wetlands
- Coasts
- Heathland and Moorland
- Montane and Submontane
- Wasteland
Lush green, frequently mown and makes up most gardens, parks and football pitches?
Amenity grassland
Species-rich, biodiverse in terms of the flora and fauna it supports, increasingly rare and highly threatened in the UK?
Unimproved grassland - hay meadows and grazed calcareous
What is the main objective when creating or restoring grassland?
to achieve species-richness and a type of grassland which is fitting to the underlying geology and locality
Woodland, which have become established on previously abandoned or neglected ground?
Secondary woodlands - colonised naturally or been planted as part of a habitat restoration scheme.
What % of wetlands have been lost since Roman times?
90%
What services do wetlands provide to humans? (2)
- water purification (i.e. reedbeds)
- flood defence
Ponds are often lost as a result of (3)
- modern agricultural practices
- development
- lack of management
The main considerations when creating a wildlife pond are (6)
- The bigger the pond, the better
- Site the pond where there is minimal shade
- Create meandering edges with lots of shallow areas
- Ensure easy access into the pond for wildlife
- Use native plants around the periphery and submerged
- Avoid stocking the pond with fish
Heathland and moorland are important habitats in the UK for non plant species such as (3)
- dragonflies
- rare reptiles
- ground-nesting birds (Dartford Warbler / Nightjar)
Montane grasslands and heaths include a range of vegetation types that occur exclusively in mountains (4)
- prostrate dwarf shrub heath
- snowbed communities
- sedge and rush heaths
- moss heaths
Montane and submontane habitats exist in the UK mostly in?
Scotland
where the high altitude, latitude and shallow infertile soils provide a unique habitat - Hares / Golden Eagle