Heathland Haven

Where were we?

Skipwith Common is a recognized SSSI National Nature Reserve since 1957 located in Selby near York, containing 270 hectares of mixed woodland and lowland heathland,making it a recognized site with European importance of being one of the most northerly hemisphere locations having a mixture of dry and wet heath. Skipwith Common is privately owned by the Esrick Estate, overseen by Natural England, full of biodiversity ranging from aquatic plants to ground nesting birds like the Nightjar and Stone curlew, heritage from WWII RAF base and archaeology from the Bronze and Iron age.  

What were we conserving?

We were conserving evergreen species on the heathland near the main entrance of the reserve; Cross Leaf Heath (Erica tetralix), Common heather (Calluna vulgaris) and Bell heather (Erica cinereal), by either removing or cutting near the base of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Silver birch (Betula pendula) that were growing in the same habitat. Both species of tree are fast growing seed dispersers that would take over the entire heathland if not maintained by manual labour or conservation grazing. Subsequently, both species of vegetation would compete for resources such as light and water altering the ecology of the dry and wet heathland. Within the environment, age diversity on the heathland was encouraged to create richness for a variety of in/vertebrates, this is why we did not cut the evergreen as it is beneficial to an abundance of species.  

Practically getting involved on the heathland (Rankin,2019)

Species identification (Rankin,2019)

Why is this conservation important?

Maintaining heathland brings biodiversity to all tropic levels creating a mosaic of habitats; containing grasses, flowers, bare ground and boggy margins all within a small area compared to complete structural habitats such as woodland. 143 species are directly linked to heathland; 8% reptiles and 21% mammals. Heathland is under threat due to the lack or inappropriate management, evidently with only 16% left throughout the UK since 1800, 20% of all known heathland globally. In the past 40 years heathland conservation has been re-recognized as being an ecologically valuable service for humans; by storing carbon minimizing climate change effects and natural hydrology barriers reducing flood risks as well as provisioning services such as peat, coal and game. Due to ever changing social and economic pressures, habitat loss being the major factor due to agriculture herbicides, fragmentation, inappropriate grazing, infrastructural development, encroachment by invasive species and disease. Positively heathland can be restored by a regime of burning which depletes the nutrients in the soil allowing heath to thrive in low soil acidification and cutting to create age diverse vegetation, however this practice is less effective. Skipwith Common is an advocate for conservation grazing consisting of 270 Hebridean sheep, Longhorn cattle and 7 Oxmoor ponies. A limiation to grazing it that it is not effective at depleting soil nutrients, more so the recycling of the heath.

How to get involved?

Volunteers who would like to be outdoors on this diverse landscape can practically get involved on a Tuesday and Thursday by contacting the site warden, in which to gain practical skills and knowledge of management of an important ecosystem. Planned events are directed at all age ranges as seen on the Events bulletin, allowing children, the elderly or with disabilities, to get involved if they wish with casual litter picks on designated accessible paths, educational talks and social events. Skipwith Common is a minimalistic site with no toilets, café and is exposed; so, remember to wrap up warm. Being outdoors has mental health benefits; be encouraged to get out and see the great outdoors by having a look at Natural England for other National Nature Reserves.

More information

• Cordingley, J. (2012). Ecosystem service provision in dynamic heath landscapes. Bournemouth University, pp.20-24.
• Diaz, A., Green, I. and Evans, D. (2011). Heathland Restoration Techniques: Ecological Consequences for Plant-Soil and Plant-Animal Interactions. ISRN Ecology, 2011, pp.1-8.
• Fagúndez, J. (2012). Heathlands confronting global change: drivers of biodiversity loss from past to future scenarios. Annals of Botany, 111(2), pp.151-172.
• Gimingham, C. (1985). Age-Related Interactions between Calluna vulgaris and Phytophagous Insects. Oikos, 44(1), p.12.
•  Price, E. (2002). Lowland Grassland and Heathland Habitats. London: Department of Environment and Geography Sciences in Manchester Metropolitan University, pp.7-39
• Webb, N. (2008). The traditional management of European heathlands. Journal of Applied Ecology, 35(6), pp.987-990.