Malvern Hills Management Plan: 4. FAUNA AND FLORA

Malvern Hills Conservators

4. FAUNA AND FLORA The ecology of the Conservators' land is complex and varied. The most prominent feature is the north-south running spine of the main hills which is covered in acid grasslands, bracken and western gorse on the open hills. This open country merges through an inter-gradation of deciduous scrub into woodland on the lower slopes. These trees soften the link between the open hills, the urban areas and the more intensively farmed landscape at the foot of the hills. The lower hills of the southern end of the spine are more wooded and include the largest area of woodland held by the Conservators at Hollybush Roughs, notable for its oaks, hazel coppice and large holly trees. The Conservators also hold two relatively recently acquired woodland blocks of ash-field maple-dog's mercury on the lower western slopes, Park Wood and Fish Pool Leys Coppice.

On the eastern side of the main hills lie three distinct forms of common land. These are the grasslands of the urban commons and wide road verges of Malvern, which are, essentially, amenity grasslands (although the two parts of Malvern Common are of significant nature conservation interest); the commons at Castlemorton and Hollybed which are mainly rough grasslands, with some scrub areas, where sheep and cattle graze; and Old Hills, the parts of the Conservators' land most distant from the Malvern Hills, where there are vigorous grasslands on the more productive soils, with some scrub and woodland.

A more detailed description of the vegetation of the ecology of the Conservators' land may be found in The ecology and nature conservation value of the land held by the Malvern Hills Conservators (Alma 1998b). This report also considers the history of the vegetation of the hills, describes the vegetation of each of the zones, and gives more detailed lists of species from the Malvern Hills and Castlemorton Common SSSIs. Species known to occur in Worcestershire which are considered to be rare, scarce or threatened by population declines nationally or within the county are listed in the Worcestershire Biodiversity Partnerships (1998) The endangered wildlife of Worcestershire: the County Red Data Book; this publication gives much information on the significant species found on the Conservators' land.

The land held by the Malvern Hills Conservators is of considerable significance in nature conservation terms for a number of reasons:

The interaction of land-use traditions and geology of the area has created a unique, substantial and distinctive series and juxtaposition of sub- and semi-natural habitats. The ecology of this area is, therefore, of considerable interest at the landscape scale;
The Conservators' land contains a wide variety of different habitats which support a diverse and important range of animal and plant species. Nationally, regionally and locally rare and protected plants, insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals occur on the Conservators' land;
Many of the plant communities found on the land are extensive in area, not otherwise common, and are distinctive in the national and regional contexts;
The occurrence of rare animals, plants and plant communities make the land a significant national and regional biodiversity resource;
Many of the habitat types exist as islands of sub-natural and semi-natural communities surrounded by a metaphorical sea of intensively managed farmland;
Because of the size and large boundary length of the Conservators' land, the animals and plants in it serve as a reservoir that has the potential to supply the surrounding countryside with wildlife through the network of interconnecting wildlife corridors, for example its streams, woodland and hedge systems.

The uniqueness and distinctiveness of the plant communities created by the land-use tradition and geology of the area has resulted in the main spine of the hills being identified as part of one of English Nature's Natural Areas, appropriately called the Malvern Hills and Teme Valley. The nearby common land at lower elevations and the more distant Old Hills fall within the Severn and Avon Vales Natural area.

The regional biological significance of the Conservators' land has been acknowledged by the county nature trusts of Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, who have identified a range of Special Wildlife Sites (Herefordshire and Worcestershire) or Key Wildlife Sites (Gloucestershire). These sites represent the next tier of biological importance below SSSI level, although it is noted that Herefordshire and Worcestershire's SWS include SSSIs and RIGs. Although not covered by statute unless they are designated as SSSIs, such wildlife sites receive some protection from development through nature conservation policies in county structure plans and local development plans (and the future unitary development plan of Herefordshire) and are recognised to have local or county significance. Collectively the SSSIs, SWSs and KWSs constitute the bulk of the Critical Natural Capital of the area (Hawkeswell 1997).

The UK Government (1994) has produced an important document, Biodiversity: the UK Action Plan, on the strategy and actions needed to promote the maintenance and enhancement of the UK's biodiversity of species and communities. Locally a Biodiversity Action Plan for Worcestershire was published by the Worcestershire Biodiversity Partnership in 1999, for the same purpose within Worcestershire. Similar BAPs have or will be produced for Gloucestershire and Herefordshire, respectively. These BAPs will be used to guide species and community specific measures which will be taken on the Conservators' land.

The main issue of concern for the flora and fauna of the Conservators' land is the reduction in grazing, which is leading to the diminution of the extent of open vegetation types on the main hills and low-lying commons. Open vegetation types are being replaced by scrub and woodland. This particularly deleterious on the spines of the hills, where the nature conservation interest of the acid grasslands is being seriously reduced and the landscape altered.

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