Last refuges of England’s rarest species revealed
27 Jan 2011 11:04 AM
Ten of the most important wildlife sites in the country, the last refuges of some of our rarest species, are disclosed today by Natural England.
They range from romantic islands and royal parks to ancient fenland and spectacular dales.
All are Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), the best examples of wildlife and geology that Britain can offer. The list is published alongside a new report by Natural England – Protecting England’s Natural Treasures – which details how the hard work of landowners, farmers and volunteers has transformed the fortunes of England’s SSSIs, halting or reversing the long process of decline that most SSSIs had experienced over recent decades.
Without these wildlife havens a number of fragile species clinging to survival would disappear from the UK and some would become globally extinct.
• The Durham Dales harbour survivors of the Ice Age. Upper Teesdale SSSI is something of a botanical time capsule where the Teesdale rock-rose and Teesdale sandwort have existed in splendid isolation for 12,000 years.
• Rarer still is the Derbyshire feather-moss. An aquatic profusion of green, just one square metre of it exists in the world at a secret location in Cressbrook Dale SSSI.
• The Sussex emerald moth’s last toehold in Britain is in Kent, where its larvae can be found on Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay SSSI. Equally threatened is another moth – the reddish buff moth – which is confined to a single site on an SSSI on the Isle of Wight.
• Avon Gorge is home to two trees that grow nowhere else on Earth – the Bristol whitebeam and Wilmott’s whitebeam – while an undisclosed location in Norfolk has a colony of pool frogs reintroduced in 2005 after the species died out in Britain in the 1990s.
• The most elusive arachnid in Britain – the ladybird spider – is so rare that it is found in just one SSSI in Dorset, although a recent reintroduction programme is attempting to safeguard its future. The queen’s executioner beetle, named in a Natural England competition last year, only lives in Windsor Forest and Great Park SSSI. Similarly, the Lindisfarne helleborine is an orchid growing solely on the historic island.
• Rather more prosaic is the fen ragwort and its unprepossessing surroundings. Cousin of the common ragwort, the native fen variety in England is limited to a drain in Cambridgeshire. It had been extinct for more than a century but burst back into life in the 1960s when the ditch was dug, exposing dormant seeds in the peat.
Helen Phillips, Natural England’s Chief Executive, said: “SSSIs are often all that stand between some of our most threatened species and extinction. By providing essential habitat that may not be found elsewhere, they represent a life support system whose importance cannot be overstated. It’s important that we celebrate these last refuges and the species they sustain, so that we can ensure they receive the attention and support they need.”
The ten SSSIs are among 4,119 across England, ranging from a 4.5 sq m barn in Gloucestershire (home to lesser horseshoe bats) to huge areas such as 37,000 hectares of the Humber estuary (where a colony of grey seals and 50,000 golden plovers are found). In total they cover more than 1m hectares (2.5m acres) or 8 per cent of England.
Since 2003, when just 57 per cent of SSSIs were assessed as being in favourable or recovering condition, they have been set on the road to recovery with the result that 96.5 per cent are now either in favourable condition or are on course to reach it. Farmers, land managers, dedicated volunteers, charities and public bodies such as the Ministry of Defence have all played a major role in improving their condition.
One of the biggest single factors in the turnaround has been grants for environmentally sensitive farming such as Higher Level Stewardship, which benefit around 45 per cent of SSSIs. They are a combination of EU and British government funding which rewards farmers and land managers for conserving our most important wildlife habitats. Today 96 per cent of grouse moors are in favourable or recovering condition, compared to 25 per cent 6 years ago, thanks in large part to the work of shoot managers in agri-environment agreements.
Helen Phillips added: “Against a backdrop of gradual decline in biodiversity over the past century, both nationally and internationally, the revival in the fortunes of England’s SSSIs represents a real success story. We are under no illusions about the work that still needs to be done - it will take a number of years for some improvements to be fully realised, and longer still for these to be translated into widespread increases in wildlife populations. Thousands of organisations and individuals have already played a part, and it is only through their sustained efforts that we can provide a more secure future for the extraordinary array of rare and endangered species found on SSSIs.”
Richard Benyon, Minister for the Natural Environment, said: “Protecting and managing these special sites is a responsibility we must all share together – for ourselves and for the benefit of future generations. These sites provide safe havens for some of England’s rarest wildlife that might not survive elsewhere, so we will continue to work with land managers and Natural England to build on this success and maintain the gains already made.”
The report is available in two formats:
Notes:
Rare species and their refuges
Sussex emerald moth - Thalera fimbrialis
Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay SSSI, Kent
First recorded in Britain at Beachy Head in 1902, the Sussex emerald only became established in this country in 1950. The free-draining, vegetated shingle habitats found on the SSSI provide ideal habitat for wild carrot, the caterpillar’s favoured food. Although latterly only found in this SSSI, evidence emerged last year that a second colony may be breeding near Deal, Kent.
Bristol whitebeam – Sorbus bristoliensis
Avon Gorge SSSI, Bristol/Somerset
This endemic tree is found nowhere in the world except Avon Gorge, where around 300 grow. They have small orange fruit, toothed leaves and are noted for their forked trunks. The limestone soil and rocks, open, scrubby habitats and uneven, steep cliff faces provide ideal conditions for Avon Gorge’s delicate ecosystem of whitebeams.
Derbyshire feather-moss - Thamnobryum angustifolium
Cressbrook Dale SSSI, Derbyshire
The world’s entire stock of this luxuriant moss amounts to a single square metre in an aquatic location within this SSSI, where it has become highly adapted to the conditions. Natural England co-ordinates monitoring of the moss and its surroundings, including water quality, to ensure its survival.
Reddish buff moth - Acosmetia caliginosa
Cranmore SSSI, Isle of Wight
Once found in Hampshire and Dorset, it is now confined to a single locality on the island where the SSSI’s heathland harbours an abundance of saw-wort, its main foodplant. Work to enhance this habitat has been funded by the West Wight Landscape Partnership, of which Natural England is a partner, and Higher Level Stewardship agreements. Attempts to reintroduce the moth to the mainland have so far proved unsuccessful.
Lindisfarne helleborine – Epipactis sancta
Lindisfarne SSSI, Northumberland
Originally thought to be dune helleborine until genetic testing revealed it was sufficiently different to be ranked separately. Only found on Holy Island, where its 300 plants make it a rarer species in the world than the panda, this endemic orchid can grow to 2ft tall and has up to 30 flowers.
Fen ragwort – Senecia paludosus
Undisclosed SSSI, Cambridgeshire
This unremarkable drain supports the only known native population of a plant once found in Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire. Declared extinct in 1857 as a result of drainage activities that destroyed its habitat, the ragwort made its comeback when the present drain was dug in 1968, exposing dormant seeds in the upper peat layer which then germinated. Thrives in the relatively rich fen and reed swamp.
Ladybird spider – Eresus cinnaberinus
Undisclosed SSSI, Dorset
Derives its name from the male’s red markings during the mating season and is ranked Britain’s most elusive spider by the Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats. Living a largely solitary life for around five years in a silk-lined burrow with a silky but deadly awning over the entrance hole, these pocket-sized predators often drag underground a range of large beetles, bees and wasps. Numbers slumped to 56 spiders in 1994, leading to a major effort by conservation bodies and landowners. Following a programme of habitat management on heathland, scrub clearance, and captive breeding and introductions the most recent web count found 1000 spiders.
Teesdale rock-rose - Helianthemum canum subsp. Laevigatum
Teesdale sandwort - Minuartia stricta
Upper Teesdale SSSI, Co. Durham
These Arctic-alpine flowers have grown in the dale since the last glaciation 12,000 years ago and are not found anywhere else in Britain. Threatened by rising temperatures and competition from lower-level species, these upland specialists will rely more and more on the protection of SSSI status and appropriate habitat management in the future.
Queen’s executioner beetle - Megapenthes lugens
Windsor Forest and Great Park SSSI, Berkshire/Surrey
A large, nocturnal beetle that is thought to feed on the larvae of other beetles as well as flowers, it makes a distinctive clicking sound as it escapes from predators. Grows to about 3cm long and lives on the decaying trunks of beech and elm trees. It pupates in the autumn before overwintering as an adult inside its pupal case. Now so rare that it can only be found at this site in the UK.
Pool frog - Rana (Pelophylax) lessonae
Undisclosed SSSI, Norfolk
The frog died out in Britain in the 1990s and was reintroduced to Norfolk from Sweden in 2005. Natural England and the Herpetological Conservation Trust led the project, which saw targeted habitat restoration create the ideal conditions for the pool frog, which is England’s rarest amphibian.
About Natural England
Natural England is the government’s independent adviser on the natural environment. Established in 2006 our work is focused on enhancing England’s wildlife and landscapes and maximising the benefits they bring to the public.
- We establish and care for England’s main wildlife and geological sites, ensuring that over 4,000 National Nature Reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest are looked after and improved.
- We work to ensure that England’s landscapes are effectively protected, designating England’s National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Marine Conservation Zones, and advising widely on their conservation.
- We run Environmental Stewardship and other green farming schemes that deliver over £400 million a year to farmers and landowners, enabling them to enhance the natural environment across two thirds of England’s farmland.
- We fund, manage, and provide scientific expertise for hundreds of conservation projects each year, improving the prospects for thousands of England’s species and habitats.
- We promote access to the wider countryside, helping establish National Trails and coastal trails and ensuring that the public can enjoy and benefit from them.
For further information (media only) contact: Graham Tibbetts in the National Press Office on 0300 060 2617, graham.tibbetts@naturalengland.org.uk or out of hours 07810 636344. For further information about Natural England please visit: www.naturalengland.org.uk .