Page 2 - Conservation Impact Report 2016
P. 2

Abstract

This report provides a summary of the impact of                management practices. As BBOWT has adopted
conservation work conducted by the Berkshire,                  relatively low input conservation strategies that can be
Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust                 used alongside hay making and grazing management,
(BBOWT). The aim of the report is to demonstrate that a        the report presents these as options many landowners
conservation strategy can have a significant impact on         could take up.
nature, and that in a period where nature is in decline
these efforts are more important than ever.                    Fen, reedbed, wet grassland, lowland heath, pond, lake
                                                               and river species are under threat from habitat loss and
This report identifies seven different habitats managed        declining water quality: all these habitats require some
by BBOWT where a conservation strategy has been put            form of national protection.
in place. It reveals that these strategies have a positive
impact on indicator species. The report also reviews           The landholdings analysed in this report represent
these habitats within a national context.                      some of the last havens for nature in the three counties.
                                                               What is required are joined up habitats allowing for
The report concludes that in the wider countryside             ecological connectivity across a landscape. It is hoped
species associated with woodlands, calcareous                  that this report demonstrates that conservation
grasslands, meadows, hedgerows, farmland and                   strategies have tangible benefits to wildlife that are
rough grasslands, are in decline due to changes in             worthwhile taking.

Chalk-fragrant orchids

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