Brue Valley Living Landscape
Encyclopedia
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
project based on the Somerset Levels and Moors and managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust
Somerset Wildlife Trust
Somerset Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Somerset, England.The trust, which was established in 1964, aims to safeguard the county's wildlife and wild places for this and future generations and manages almost 80 nature reserves. Examples include Fyne Court, Westhay Moor,...
. The project commenced in January 2009 and aims to restore, recreate and reconnect habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
. It aims to ensure that wildlife is enhanced and capable of sustaining itself in the face of climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
while guaranteeing farmers and other landowners can continue to use their land profitably. It is one of an increasing number of landscape scale conservation
Landscape scale conservation
Landscape scale conservation is a concept that has arisen, primarily in the UK since the mid-1990s, in response to both the challenges of climate change and a perceived excessive focus on site based conservation...
projects in the UK.
Location
The project area is approximately 12,500 hectares in size and covers the floodplain of the River BrueRiver Brue
The River Brue originates in the parish of Brewham in Somerset, England, and reaches the sea some 50 km west at Burnham-on-Sea. It originally took a different route from Glastonbury to the sea, but this was changed by the monastery in the twelfth century....
from a little east of Glastonbury
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
to beyond the Catcott, Edington and Chilton Moors SSSI
Catcott, Edington and Chilton Moors SSSI
Catcott, Edington and Chilton Moors SSSI is a 1083 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, England notified in 1967. It is close to the villages of Edington and Catcott....
in the west. Almost a quarter of the project area is designated as Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
(SSSI), Special Protection Area
Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area or SPA is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certain particularly threatened birds.Together with Special...
(SPA) and Ramsar site. The project area accounts for almost half of the Somerset Levels and Moors SPA.
The area encompasses land already managed for conservation by organisations including Somerset Wildlife Trust
Somerset Wildlife Trust
Somerset Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Somerset, England.The trust, which was established in 1964, aims to safeguard the county's wildlife and wild places for this and future generations and manages almost 80 nature reserves. Examples include Fyne Court, Westhay Moor,...
, Natural England
Natural England
Natural England is the non-departmental public body of the UK government responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, freshwater and marine environments, geology and soils, are protected and improved...
, the Hawk and Owl Trust and the RSPB. These include Shapwick Heath
Shapwick Heath
Shapwick Heath is a 394.0-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and National Nature Reserve between Shapwick and Westhay in Somerset, notified in 1967. It is part of the Brue Valley Living Landscape conservation project. The project commenced in January 2009 and aims to restore,...
National Nature Reserve
National Nature Reserve
For details of National nature reserves in the United Kingdom see:*National Nature Reserves in England*National Nature Reserves in Northern Ireland*National Nature Reserves in Scotland*National Nature Reserves in Wales...
, Westhay Moor
Westhay Moor
Westhay Moor is a 513.7 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest 2.5km north-east of Westhay village and 4km from Wedmore in Somerset, notified in 1971...
, Catcott Lows National Nature Reserve, Ham Wall
Ham Wall
The Ham Wall National Nature Reserve, west of Glastonbury, on the Somerset Levels in the valley of the River Brue in Somerset, England is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds....
and Shapwick Moor
Shapwick Moor
Shapwick Moor is an area of of farmland on the Somerset levels bordering Shapwick Heath and Cattcot Heath.It is part of the Brue Valley Living Landscape conservation project. The project commenced in January 2009 and aims to restore, recreate and reconnect habitat...
.
There are 25 Scheduled Ancient Monuments and 746 Historic Environment Records in the project area including internationally important sites such at the Glastonbury Lake Village
Glastonbury Lake Village
Glastonbury Lake Village was an iron age village on the Somerset Levels near Godney, some north west of Glastonbury, Somerset, England. It has been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and covers an area of north to south by east to west....
and Sweet Track
Sweet Track
The Sweet Track is an ancient causeway in the Somerset Levels, England. It was built in 3807 or 3806 BC and has been claimed to be the oldest road in the world. It was the oldest timber trackway discovered in Northern Europe until the 2009 discovery of a 6,000 year-old trackway in Belmarsh Prison...
. Research on the Somerset Levels and Moors has been crucial to our understanding of the natural and human history of wetlands.
Technically the project is based solely on the peat-based soils of the Somerset Moors. It does not extend on to the marine clay soils of the more westerly Levels.
Project Objectives
The project has five major objectivesObjective 1: Mapping and research to enable a Local Vision for the Brue Valley.
Objective 2: Producing a Local Vision that is shared by local government, farmers, the conservation sector and other interest community members.
Objective 3: Larger and better connected patches of important habitats.
Objective 4: Working with the local community towards a shared vision for the Brue Valley.
Objective 5: Developing the management of wildlife habitats in a way which also benefits the local economy and rural society.
Habitats and Species Targeted
Grazing marsh
Grazing marsh is a British Isles term for flat, marshy grassland in polders. It consists of large grass fields separated by fresh or brackish ditches, and is often important for its wildlife.-History:...
, fen
Fen
A fen is a type of wetland fed by mineral-rich surface water or groundwater. Fens are characterised by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline, with relatively high dissolved mineral levels but few other plant nutrients...
, raised bog, lowland meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
, purple moor grass and rush pastures and wet woodland
Wet woodland
Wet woodland is a biodiversity habitat in the United Kingdom.This is a woodland that occurs on poorly drained or seasonally wet soils. They are typical of river valley, the surroundings of mires and raised bog, the transition zones between open water and drier ground, and beside small winding...
.
Species of conservation concern (UK BAP priority species
Biodiversity Action Plan
A Biodiversity Action Plan is an internationally recognized program addressing threatened species and habitats and is designed to protect and restore biological systems. The original impetus for these plans derives from the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity...
) that are likely to benefit from this project include:
Plants
Divided sedge
Carex
Carex is a genus of plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges. Other members of the Cyperaceae family are also called sedges, however those of genus Carex may be called "true" sedges, and it is the most species-rich genus in the family. The study of Carex is known as...
Carex divisa
English sticky eyebright
Euphrasia
Euphrasia is a genus of about 450 species of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae , with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are semi-parasitic on grasses and other plants...
Euphrasia anglica
Greater water parsnip
Sium latifolium
The Sium latifolium or Greater Water parsnip or sometimes simply Water parsnip is a plant species of the genus Sium....
Sium latifolium
Lesser butterfly orchid
Platanthera bifolia
Platanthera bifolia, commonly known as the Lesser Butterfly-orchid, is a species of orchid in the genus Platanthera, having certain relations with the genus Orchis, where it was previously included and also with the genus Habenaria. It can be found throughout Europe and Morocco...
Platanthera bifolia
Marsh stitchwort
Stellaria
Stellaria is a genus of about 90-120 species flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, with a cosmopolitan distribution. Common names include stitchwort and chickweed.-Food use:...
Stellaria palustris
Tubular water dropwort
Water dropwort
The water dropworts, Oenanthe , are a genus of plants in the family Apiaceae. Most of the species grow in damp ground, in marshes or in water....
Oenanthe fistulosa
Invertebrates
Argent and sable moth
Argent and Sable moth
Argent and sable moths or Rheumaptera hastata are day flying moths of the Geometridae family, with distinctive black and white colourings. They tend to live on wetlands and hillsides. The larvae spin together the leaves of their food plants to form their cocoons...
Rheumaptera hastata
Lesser silver water beetle
Lesser silver water beetle
The lesser silver water beetle, Hydrochara caraboides, is a species of water scavenger beetle .-Description:The beetle is about long and, despite the name, is actually black in colour...
Hydrochara caraboides
Narrow bordered bee hawk-moth
Hemaris tityus
Hemaris tityus, the Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth, is one of two similar species of sphingid moth occurring in Britain that closely mimic a bumblebee. It has a wide range, from Ireland across temperate Europe to the Ural Mountains, western Siberia, Novosibirsk and the Altai...
Hemaris tityus
One-grooved diving beetle Bidessus unistriatus
Pearl-bordered fritillary
Pearl-bordered Fritillary
The Pearl-bordered Fritillary is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family.It is orange with black spots on the upperside of its wing and has a wingspan of 38–46 mm. On the underside of the wings there is a row of silver pearly markings along the edge, which give the species its name...
Boloria euphrosyne
Shining ram's-horn snail Segmentina nitida
Shrill carder bee Bombus sylvarum
Small heath
Small Heath (butterfly)
The Small Heath Coenonympha pamphilus is a butterfly species belonging to the family Nymphalidae, . It is widespread in Eurasia and northwestern Africa, preferring drier habitats than other Coenonymphae...
Coenonympha pamphilus
Small pearl-bordered fritillary
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary
The Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary , called the Silver-bordered Fritillary in North America, is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family...
Boloria selene
Fish
European eel
European eel
The European eel, Anguilla anguilla, is a species of eel, a snake-like, catadromous fish. They can reach in exceptional cases a length of 1½ m, but are normally much smaller, about 60–80 cm, and rarely more than 1 m....
Anguilla anguilla
Reptiles
European adder
Vipera berus
Vipera berus, the common European adder or common European viper, is a venomous viper species that is extremely widespread and can be found throughout most of Western Europe and all the way to Far East Asia. Known by a host of common names including Common adder and Common viper, adders have been...
Vipera berus
Grass snake
Grass Snake
The grass snake , sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake is a European non-venomous snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians.-Etymology:...
Natrix natrix
Birds
Bewick's swan
Bewick's Swan
The Tundra Swan is a small Holarctic swan. The two taxa within it are usually regarded as conspecific, but are also sometimes split into two species, Cygnus bewickii of the Palaearctic and the Whistling Swan, C. columbianus proper, of the Nearctic...
Cygnus columbianus bewickii
Eurasian bittern Botaurus stellaris
Eurasian bullfinch
Eurasian Bullfinch
The Bullfinch, Common Bullfinch or Eurasian Bullfinch is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. In Anglophone Europe it is known simply as Bullfinch, as it is the original bird to bear the name bullfinch.This bird breeds across Europe and temperate Asia...
Pyrrhula pyrrhula
Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope
European starling
European Starling
The Common Starling , also known as the European Starling or just Starling, is a passerine bird in the family Sturnidae.This species of starling is native to most of temperate Europe and western Asia...
Sturnus vulgaris
Gadwall
Gadwall
The Gadwall is a common and widespread duck of the family Anatidae.- Description :The Gadwall is 46–56 cm long with a 78–90 cm wingspan. The male is slightly larger than the female, weighing on average 990 g against her 850 g...
Anas strepera
Grasshopper warbler
Grasshopper Warbler
The Grasshopper Warbler, Locustella naevia, is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds across much of temperate Europe and Asia. It is migratory, wintering from northwest Africa to India....
Locustella naevia
Hen harrier
Hen Harrier
The Hen Harrier or Northern Harrier is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA, and in northern Eurasia. This species is polytypic, with two subspecies. Marsh Hawk is a historical name for the American form.It migrates...
Circus cyaneus
House sparrow
House Sparrow
The House Sparrow is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. One of about 25 species in the genus Passer, the House Sparrow occurs naturally in most of Europe, the Mediterranean region, and much of Asia...
Passer domesticus
Linnet
Linnet
The Linnet is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.The Linnet derives its scientific name from its fondness for hemp and its English name from its liking for seeds of flax, from which linen is made.- Description :...
Carduelis cannabina
Marsh harrier
Marsh harrier
The marsh harriers are birds of prey of the harrier subfamily. They are medium-sized raptors and the largest and broadest-winged harriers. Most of them are associated with marshland and dense reedbeds...
Circus aeruginosus
Marsh tit
Marsh Tit
The Marsh Tit Poecile palustris is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae and genus Poecile, closely related to the Willow, Père David's and Songar Tits. It is small with a black crown and nape, pale cheeks, brown back and greyish-brown wings and tail. Between 8 and 11 subspecies are recognised...
Poecile palustris
Merlin
Merlin (bird)
The Merlin is a small species of falcon from the Northern Hemisphere. A bird of prey once known colloquially as a pigeon hawk in North America, the Merlin breeds in the northern Holarctic; some migrate to subtropical and northern tropical regions in winter.-European and North American...
Falco columbarius
Northern lapwing
Northern Lapwing
The Northern Lapwing , also known as the Peewit, Green Plover or just Lapwing, is a bird in the plover family. It is common through temperate Eurasia....
Vanellus vanellus
Peregrine
Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
Falco peregrinus
Reed bunting
Reed Bunting
The Reed Bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae....
Emberiza schoeniclus
Short-eared owl
Short-eared Owl
The Short-eared Owl is a species of typical owl . In Scotland this species of owl is often referred to as a cataface, grass owl or short-horned hootlet. Owls belonging to genus Asio are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may...
Asio flammeus
Skylark
Skylark
The Skylark is a small passerine bird species. This lark breeds across most of Europe and Asia and in the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations are more migratory, moving further south in winter. Even in the milder west of its range,...
Alauda arvensis
Song thrush
Song Thrush
The Song Thrush is a thrush that breeds across much of Eurasia. It is also known in English dialects as throstle or mavis. It has brown upperparts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies...
Turdus philomelos
Teal
Common Teal
The Eurasian Teal or Common Teal is a common and widespread duck which breeds in temperate Eurasia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian Teal is often called simply the Teal due to being the only one of these small dabbling ducks in much of its range...
Anas cracca
Willow tit
Willow Tit
The Willow Tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and northern Asia. It is more of a conifer specialist than the closely related Marsh Tit, which explains it breeding much further north...
Poecile montanus
Yellowhammer
Yellowhammer
The Yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae. It is common in all sorts of open areas with some scrub or trees and form small flocks in winter....
Emberiza citrinella
Mammals
Brown hare
European Hare
The European hare , also known as the brown hare, Eastern Jackrabbit and Eastern prairie hare, is a species of hare native to northern, central, and western Europe and western Asia. It is a mammal adapted to temperate open country. It is related to the similarly appearing rabbit, which is in the...
Lepus europaeus
Eurasian harvest mouse Micromys minutus
European otter
European Otter
The European Otter , also known as the Eurasian otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter and Old World otter, is a European and Asian member of the Lutrinae or otter subfamily, and is typical of freshwater otters....
Lutra lutra
Water vole Arvicola terrestris