Cannock Chase AONB

1 COUNTRYSIDE TRAINING PARTNERSHIP Ltd State of the aonb Report Cannock Chase aonb March 2010 Front cover: Brindley Heath Cannock Chase aonb This page: Beaudesert bluebells Cannock Chase aonb State of the aonb Report _____ Cannock Chase aonb COUNTRYSIDE TRAINING PARTNERSHIP Ltd Red Kite Environment Pearcroft Pearcroft Rd Stonehouse Gloucestershire GL10 2JY Tel: 01453 822 013 Fax: 01453 791 969 Email: Cannock Chase State of the aonb Report Contents Part 1 State of the 1 1 Theme 1 3 Forest and Valley Flora and Flora and Geology and Historic landscapes and Fringe agricultural Theme 2 19 Theme 3 20 Local Theme 4 21 Peace and Part 2 Future Condition 27 aonb State of the Environment Discussion and Appendix 1 Relationship to national 33 Appendix 2 Linking indicators to the Management 34 Appendix 3 Data 37 i Red Kite Environment Countryside Training Partnership March 2010 Cannock Chase State of the aonb Report Part 1 State of the aonb Introduction 1 This report presents a picture

2 Of the condition of Cannock Chase aonb in 2010. It uses as its base a State of the aonb report produced in 2004 which provided a framework of special qualities of the aonb and proposed indicators that can be used to measure these qualities. This first report identified ten special qualities for the aonb and provided for each a comment on its nature, a current measure of condition, a proposed set of indicators and actions required to maintain or improve condition. The ten qualities are: Peace and tranquillity Wilderness not able to see farmland, buildings or moving traffic Trent Valley floodplain Steve Welch Views within, of and from the Chase Heathland importance for its wildlife and the contribution it makes to the landscape mosaic and feeling of wilderness Forest and woodlands including veteran oaks and ancient semi-natural woodland, beech belts and productive forest Valley wetlands Flora and Fauna deer, reptiles, birds (eg nightjars)

3 , insects, plants Geology and soils Historic landscapes and features ancient monuments, parkland, listed buildings and wartime uses The fringe agricultural landscapes The report also identifies four key activities and pressures that impact on the special qualities of the aonb . For each of these it provides a brief commentary on the activity/pressure, the current state of knowledge of the activity/pressure, actions needed and agencies responsible for management. The four key activities and pressures are: Recreation activities and infrastructure Traffic speed, volume and type Development extent/location, design/suburbanisation, eyesores/derelict land, agricultural change/horsiculture, quarrying, telecommunications and renewable energy Local economy employment generated by the aonb The aonb Management Plan is the key document for determining management action for the aonb .

4 The purpose of the State of the aonb report is to provide evidence for the aonb s condition which informs the development of objectives, policies and actions, and also to provide a baseline for future monitoring. The Management Plan considers the Red Kite Environment Countryside Training Partnership March 2010 Cannock Chase State of the aonb Report management of the aonb under five themes which broadly embrace the attributes of, and impacts on, the aonb . These themes are: Landscape its landscape features, wildlife, habitats, historic features and rivers People the aonb s accessibility and use by people, and people s impacts on its features Economy the capacity of communities to maintain livelihoods through farming and forestry, tourism, small businesses Recreation the opportunity the aonb provides for activity Support funding, the role of legislation and the activities of the aonb Partnership in protecting and managing the aonb To maintain continuity with the previous State of the aonb report.

5 And to provide an effective means of monitoring aonb condition for subsequent reviews of the management plan the ten special qualities and four activities and pressures have been grouped as follows under four of the five key themes. Landscape Heathland Forest and woodlands Valley wetlands Flora and fauna Geology and soils Historic landscapes and features Fringe agricultural landscapes People Traffic Economy Local economy Recreation Recreation Peace and tranquillity Wilderness Views The fifth theme Support concerns itself with the administration of the aonb and is, therefore, not considered in this report.

6 To help with aggregation of data at a regional or national level the themes contained within the aonb management plan have been regrouped to reflect national guidance on the scope of State of the aonb reports. This information along with the recommended datasets (or indicators) is shown in Appendix 1. 2 Red Kite Environment Countryside Training Partnership March 2010 Cannock Chase State of the aonb Report Theme 1 Landscape Heathland Indicator 3 Percentage area of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in favourable condition Baseline data has been established Overview A major characteristic of Cannock Chase aonb is heathland, which is a remnant of an ancient hunting Chase .

7 The heathland provides a strong sense of spaciousness to the aonb and is an important habitat for a high diversity of plants and animals. It is associated with areas of native oak woodlands and wood pasture that were once widespread in the midlands. Current situation The Cannock Chase SSSI covers , which is nearly 19% of the aonb area (6800ha). The SSSI consists of 919Ha of dwarf shrub heath, 19Ha of fen, marsh and swamp, and 326ha of broadleaved mixed and yew woodland. A survey of condition of the SSSI was undertaken in 2006 which identified the following: Heathland mosaic Cannock Chase aonb Compartments 1 (Milford Quarry, ), 21 ( ), 31 ( ), 33 ( ), 34 ( ), are considered to be in favourable condition a total of Compartment 26 ( ), an area of fen, marsh and swamp, is classed as in unfavourable no change condition, due to water abstraction.

8 The remainder of the SSSI ( ) is classed as in unfavourable recovering condition although no reasons have been given for this status. This area includes both dwarf shrub heath and broadleaved mixed and yew woodland. It is not possible to disaggregate the heathland from the woodland data. Generally, significant management work has been carried out on heathland areas on Cannock Chase since 1999, to spray bracken, reduce birch and pine scrub and cut old stands of heather. The aim is to create a mosaic of different age classes of heather, but lack of resources and the incidence of phytophera disease is preventive sufficient management work from taking place.

9 There have been significant reductions in bracken from 77% coverage to 4%. However, the balance of healthy heather to mature heather is still much the same1. 1 Pers com. Sue Sheppard, Staffordshire County Council, 2010 Red Kite Environment Countryside Training Partnership March 2010 Cannock Chase State of the aonb Report A study on the effects of bracken spraying on the invertebrate fauna of Cannock Chase2 found that areas of heathland where heather was in a regenerating condition carried the highest number of local species (nine). The areas with dominant bracken had five local species while the areas with mature heather had the least, at four.

10 The sprayed areas where the heather was regenerating had generalist, as well as specialist bare ground and heathland species. This assemblage will probably be at its most diverse between the early stages of regeneration and before it reaches maturity when the diversity starts to decline. Of the five species recorded in the bracken plot three were heathland or moorland species while the other two were species of leaf litter and woodlands. This suggests that heathland associated species are likely eventually to move away in bracken dominated areas as conditions become damper and more shaded. Hybrid bilberry (Vaccinium x intermedium) is a nationally rare hybrid between bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) and cowberry (Vaccinium vitisidaea).