Scrub Management through Higher Level Stewardship.
Scrub is an important habitat in its own right, and on the Commons it provides a home for a range of wildlife including nightingale and other bird species, numerous species of bat and butterflies. The presence of species-rich grassland on the Commons adds to the value of the scrub, providing a mosaic of feeding and nesting opportunities for many species. In addition, the gradation from dense scrub through to open, species-rich grassland is very valuable; there are many species which benefit from this ‘edge’ habitat.
The aim of scrub clearance is thus by no means to remove all scrub from the Commons; rather to reduce its extent, opening out the Commons to enable the cattle to push through and graze isolated pockets of grassland, and to manage the remaining stands of scrub to maximise species, age and structural diversity and to promote a good ‘interface’ between the scrub and the grassland.
The scrub clearance on the Commons is undertaken through the Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) Agreement. At the start of the agreement, a three year scrub management plan was produced by Mark Smith from the Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG). The scrub management plan aims to reconcile management for the key species on site with landscape, recreational and livestock issues, and it also gives consideration to the outcomes of the HLS consultation exercise.
In September 2013, Mark Smith from FWAG South West visited the Commons to review the scrub clearance progress to-date and to update the scrub management plan accordingly. You can download the updated scrub management plan and associated maps by clicking the documents below. Scrub clearance will be taking place on the Commons over the coming months.
To avoid disturbance or harm to nesting birds and other wildlife, scrub management takes place outside of the nesting season and work has now finished in time for the spring. Work will commence again in the autumn. Please check back for further updates later on in the year.
If you have any questions or concerns about the scrub management on the Commons, please contact Ellie Phillips, South Gloucestershire Council's HLS Delivery Officer.
Scrub is an important habitat in its own right, and on the Commons it provides a home for a range of wildlife including nightingale and other bird species, numerous species of bat and butterflies. The presence of species-rich grassland on the Commons adds to the value of the scrub, providing a mosaic of feeding and nesting opportunities for many species. In addition, the gradation from dense scrub through to open, species-rich grassland is very valuable; there are many species which benefit from this ‘edge’ habitat.
The aim of scrub clearance is thus by no means to remove all scrub from the Commons; rather to reduce its extent, opening out the Commons to enable the cattle to push through and graze isolated pockets of grassland, and to manage the remaining stands of scrub to maximise species, age and structural diversity and to promote a good ‘interface’ between the scrub and the grassland.
The scrub clearance on the Commons is undertaken through the Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) Agreement. At the start of the agreement, a three year scrub management plan was produced by Mark Smith from the Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG). The scrub management plan aims to reconcile management for the key species on site with landscape, recreational and livestock issues, and it also gives consideration to the outcomes of the HLS consultation exercise.
In September 2013, Mark Smith from FWAG South West visited the Commons to review the scrub clearance progress to-date and to update the scrub management plan accordingly. You can download the updated scrub management plan and associated maps by clicking the documents below. Scrub clearance will be taking place on the Commons over the coming months.
To avoid disturbance or harm to nesting birds and other wildlife, scrub management takes place outside of the nesting season and work has now finished in time for the spring. Work will commence again in the autumn. Please check back for further updates later on in the year.
If you have any questions or concerns about the scrub management on the Commons, please contact Ellie Phillips, South Gloucestershire Council's HLS Delivery Officer.
| hawkesbury_inglestone_scrub_plan_updated_sept_13_mark_smith_fwagsw.pdf |
| scrub_map1.pdf |
| scrub_map2.pdf |
| scrub_map3.pdf |
| scrub_map4.pdf |
| supplementary_map_5_2012.bmp |