25
Wetland Futures Report 2013: The Value of Healthy Wetlands
Development threats
Askham Bog sits approximately 500m south of the
edge of the built up area of York. With arable, pasture
land and some valuable species rich hedgerows in the
farmed land in between. Currently this area is being
proposed for housing allocation in the York Local Plan.
Development here could have negative impacts on
the bog; sitting within the catchment for the bog it
could affect water quantity, quality and flow of water
reaching the bog. Other impacts may be predation
and disturbance of native wildlife by domestic pets and
disturbance to habitats and wildlife through increased
public access. The development consortium are
The group was taken to see woodland habitats on the
basin mire, as well as the open areas being managed as
raised mire. Interesting plants and habitats seen included
royal fern, saw-sedge, marsh cinquefoil and bog myrtle, as
well as encouraging signs of cottongrass re-establishment
and
Sphagnum fimbriatum
,
S. fallax
and
S. squarrosum
noted.
•
Management practices were discussed and outlined
by the volunteer site manager John. Much of the
management has involved scrub cutting and treatment
and cutting of bracken by hand followed by seasonal
cattle grazing using Highlanders. Pitfalls of managing
relatively small and isolated sites such as this with
cattle and the farming and husbandry infrastructure
needed to target the management at particular
seasons and intensities were noted. Yorkshire Wildlife
Trust had a few large projects in the pipeline to set up
their own farms which would hopefully improve the
flexibility rather than relying on local farmers. Much
discussion centred on how to engage with and bring
along the farming community in consideration of the
proposing a design that includes possible SuDS and
a wet barrier between the housing and the bog, plus
green corridors running through the developed area,
retaining some of the historic hedgerows and controlled
access on to the reserve. More information is needed on
the hydrology of the whole area and the bog. Where the
groundwater is coming from and how it moves, how a
development might affect water quality and quantity and
how this might impact on the habitats of the bog.
Caroline Thorogood
,
Regional Manager – Vale of York
wider benefits of land management.
•
The development previously mentioned was also
discussed in this group. Discussions centred
around the impact of increased human and dog
disturbance on sensitive habitats and how these
could be managed; the potential for the development
to provide a new wide buffer habitat to mitigate
effects but also create new wetland or other (flower
–rich grasslands) habitats: and the trade-offs or
compensation mechanisms which could be used.
•
The extent to which ecosystem services language
could be part of the discussions in both planning
casework and in developing future management
aims for the site created some lively exchanges, and
ranged from wide consideration of public benefits (as
in ecosystem services) to the need to remember the
prime focus of the site was nature conservation.
Jeff Lunn
,
Area Manager, Natural England
Group 2
Delegates discussing ecosystem services at Askham Bog
photo: Hannah Freeman
