Common land under threat

Development, transport infrastructure and changes in land use fragment habitats. For commons, this can mean that hedgerows are severed, tree cover is reduced, and ancient meadows, downland, acid grassland and heathland are lost, damaged or reduced. Wildlife habitats need to be big enough and well connected for wildlife to thrive. Species need corridors to move through the landscape in response to a changing environment.

A recent report highlighted that England’s wildlife sites are generally too small and too isolated, leading to a devastating loss of some of our most loved or iconic species. To combat this, we need better and more resilient ecological networks for plants and animals; we need more, bigger, better and joined habitats.

Flower-rich grasslands and purple-studded heaths were once part of a patchwork of farmland and common land, knitted together by hedges and ponds, and defined by topography, soils, ancient rights and management. Yet, over many years, there has been a decline in traditional land management, such as grazing, coppicing, the keeping of orchards, the exercise of common rights, and hedge-laying. Coupled with increased development for housing and infrastructure, this has led to the degradation of many of our habitats; during the 20^th century alone, 90% of our grasslands were lost. Wildlife has suffered as a result. Turtle doves, skylarks and corn buntings are on the brink of extinction; plants like pheasant’s-eye and shepherd’s-needle are now classified as Endangered on the Vascular Plant Red List for England; and even the once-common hedgehog is now threatened.

Grassland and heathland management is important to create the conditions in which the specialist wildlife that lives there can thrive. Actively managing these places to encourage the growth of wildflowers and keep vigorous weeds at bay, and to create networks of habitats through connecting hedges, ponds and floodplains, helps to ensure resilience to climate change, pests and disease.

There are plants and animals in our countryside that have either been introduced from other countries, or spread from one area to another. Sometimes these species don’t cause too much trouble, but at other times, they can have terrible impacts on native wildlife.

In wooded areas, deer browse on the young shoots and leaves of trees, often damaging young saplings and creating a ‘browse line’ on mature trees. Grey squirrels can have a similar effect, stripping the bark of young trees, particularly beech and sycamore. They can also eat an entire crop of hazelnuts before they ripen.

On heathlands, bracken, gorse and scrub can become invasive if grazing is not used to keep them under control. On grasslands, common ragwort can be invasive and is dangerous for grazing animals, while plants like thistles and docks can take hold quickly and shade out delicate flowers. Non-native plants can also cause devastation: Himalayan balsam escapes from gardens and takes over ditches and wet habitats; and exotic rhododendrons – planted or escaped – shade and exclude native plants.

Diseases are also a growing problem for our trees and shrubs, especially as climate change affects the resilience of our native wildlife to new threats. Ash dieback is a fungal disease that affects ash – the second most common broadleaved tree in the Chilterns. Carried on the air, it is devastating trees across the Chilterns. Phytophtora diseases are soil diseases that affect trees and shrubs like larch and juniper, now a rare plant in the Chilterns.