| accommodation track ways | tracks created through casual use, often not permanent |
| Agenda 21 | one of five documents produced from the Earth Summit; a programme of actions designed to encourage sustainable development socially, economically and environmentally into the 21st century |
| amenity grassland | grasslands managed by regular mowing to maintain their pleasant appearance and whose prime purpose is not for use as pasture or haymeadow |
| Ancient semi-natural woodland (ASNW) | land that has had a continuous woodland cover or use since at least AD 1600; the use of the term does not mean that the woodland has not been managed or that clear-felling has never taken place, it does imply that plants of the forest community have persisted on the site continuously for 400 years |
| biodiversity | the variety of life expressed through the diversity of habitats, the species which live in them, and the natural variation in the genetic constitutions of these species |
| Biodiversity Action Plan | a strategic document that outlines how the most urgent priorities for wildlife conservation (both species and communities of organisms) can be promoted |
| calciphile | plants which can tolerate growing on base rich soil which is high in calcium |
| climax community | a plant community which develops towards the end of successional change on a site and which is more or less stable in terms of structure and species composition |
| commoners | persons having registered rights in a common |
| common land | land whose uses are, at least in part, communal rather than private (Rackham 1990) (see rights of common) |
| coppice | trees which are cut to ground level every 7 - 20 years or so and which produce a multitude of straight stems from the coppice base or stool |
| Critical Natural Capital | those parts of the stock of environmental assets, usually in the sense of the living organisms and communities of them, which are irreplaceable |
| development plan | a plan which indicates the manner in which a local planning authority proposes that land within their area should be used |
| Earth Summit | The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 1992 |
| encroachment |
intrude illegally onto the Conservators’ land through enclosure or building
2.one vegetation type spreading into another |
| flush | a seepage of water from the soil, often bringing water to the surface which is influenced by deep geology rather than surface properties; on the Malvern Hills some flushes bring base-rich water to the surface in areas otherwise dominated by acid rocks |
| habitat | the space occupied by a community of plants and animals |
| hay-making regime | a traditional method of conserving grass production for the winter months by cutting, drying and storing dried grassland plants; the sward is allowed to grow from early spring until full grown and then cut and harvested in summer; the aftermath may be grazed |
| exotic | a species of plant or animal introduced from overseas and which is not native to the United Kingdom |
| honey pot sites | features which attract visitors through their reputation or position |
| in-bye land | pasture or meadow land which is enclosed by hedges or fences; usually grassland at a lower altitude than out-bye land and close to farm buildings |
| landscape | scenery of a defined area produced from the combined influences of underlying geology and soils, topography, vegetation cover and human activity |
| natural | where the flora and fauna are uninfluenced by people |
| Natural Area | biogeographic zones identified by English Nature and the Countryside Commission (now the Countryside Agency) which reflect the geological foundation, the natural systems and processes, and the wildlife of different parts of England |
| nature conservation | policies and programmes for the long-term retention of natural and semi-natural communities under conditions which provide the potential for continuing evolution |
| open or open aspect | land where the view is not obscured by shrubs, tall scrub, or trees |
| out-bye land | un-enclosed pasture or meadowland, usually at a higher altitude than in-bye land and more distant from farm buildings |
| plantation | dense stand of trees created by planting, often in straight rows, where the species composition is determined by intervention and its use is primarily directed to the production of timber, fibre or amenity use |
| pollard | a tree which is cut between about 3 and 6 m above ground level and which then produces a mass of branches which can be further cut for timber, fire-wood, etc. or for the foliage to be left for stock to feed on |
| protected species | animals and plants which are protected through UK or EU statute, principally by various schedules of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and amendments |
| recent woodland | woodland that has developed since AD 1600 on land previously used for a different purpose (see ancient semi-natural woodland) |
| rights of common | rights guaranteed to commoners through registration on the Registers of Common land under the Commons Registration Act 1965; only rights of common of pasture are registered on land owned or managed by the Conservators |
| sheep walks | tracks created, often along contours of slopes, from habitual use by grazing sheep |
| scrub | bushes of young trees, up to about 7 m tall |
| secondary woodland | woodland that has developed on land previously used for a different purpose |
| semi-natural | where plant communities are indigenous but the vegetation type has been changed by human activity and where the plant communities found present a different structure and appearance to the expected natural climax vegetation |
| shrub | single or multi-stemmed woody plant which grows up to about 2 m |
| sub-natural | where the flora and fauna are similar to the potential natural vegetation in species composition and structure (and hence appearance) but the influence of human activity can be measured |
| succession | a more or less predictable and directional change in biological communities which commences in an area free from vegetation and develops eventually into a climax community, which in this area would usually be ash-field maple-dog’s mercury woodland or oak woodland |
| unimproved grassland | grasslands consisting of native grasses and herbs which have not been significantly affected by treatment with mineral fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, intensive grazing or drainage |
| way-leaves | rights of access permitted either through customary use or licence |
|
