Memorandum 6
Supplementary submission from Natural
England
SITES OF
SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC
INTEREST
Thank you for the opportunity to give oral evidence
to your Committee on 17 June 2009. During the meeting, we
promised to provide the Committee with further information.
With regard to Dr Iddon's inquiry regarding
volunteers (Q73 and Q74), I am pleased to say we have increased
our volunteer base across the organisation by 11.3% between 1 April
2008 to 31 March 2009 which represents 246 new
volunteers. We have also recruited a further 154 volunteers
in the first quarter of this financial year which equates to an
increase of 6.4%.
With regard to Mr Stringer's inquiry about the
general pressure to notify additional SSSIs to comply with European
targets, there was a process called "moderation", where
the European Commission called for additional areas to be submitted
for consideration as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) under
Council Directive 92/43/EEC (known as the Habitats Directive).
Areas submitted as part of this process were, in the vast majority,
already considered of national importance and notified as SSSIs.
In the specific case of Manchester airport, the area in question
held populations of Great Crested Newts. Under the Habitats Directive
these species require both individual protection and protection
of a proportion of their habitat. The area of the Manchester Airport
expansion was initially considered as potentially qualifying for
inclusion as an SAC, but following comparison with other sites
across England was not in the final submission.
In our conversation following the evidence session,
we also offered to share our draft SSSI Notification Strategy
with the Committee. As we explained to Committee, this outlines
the principles for SSSI notification (as enshrined in the Guidelines),
together with how the current series has developed. It further
explains our plans to ensure a strategic approach to SSSI notification,
to fill existing gaps in coverage, ensure the most valuable sites
are included and, as far as practicable, ensure sites are dynamic
and resilient to the effects of climate change. I enclose this
information at Annex 1 together with the Background and Supporting
information which can be found at Annex 2.
I hope this is helpful and look forward to reading
the Committee's report of this inquiry.
Dr Helen Phillips
Chief Executive
Natural England
July 2009
Annex 1
SITES OF SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC INTEREST (SSSI):
A DRAFT NOTIFICATION STRATEGY FOR ENGLAND
1. BACKGROUND
1.1 The SSSI notification provides Natural
England with a statutory duty to notify land which in its opinion
is of "special interest" by reason of its wildlife (habitats
and species) or geology. However, the natural environment is dynamic,
the nature of threats to it may change over time and our understanding
of habitats, species and geology is constantly developing. Mindful
of these facts, Parliament has also given Natural England powers
to amend existing SSSI notifications, either by varying interest
features, including additional land or both. Taken together, these
powers and duties provide Natural England with a means of conserving
areas that it considers to be of "special interest"
by reason of their wildlife (habitats and species) or geology.
Where land is not considered to be of special interest, Natural
England also has a power of "denotification" to remove
an existing notification from a SSSI, or any part of a SSSI.
1.2 There is no statutory purpose for SSSIs;
however a general purpose is defined in government policy. Defra's
code of guidance states that:
"The purpose of SSSIs is to safeguard,
for present and future generations, the diversity and geographic
range of habitats, species, and geological and physiographical
features, including the full range of natural and semi-natural
ecosystems and of important geological and physiographical phenomena
throughout England. The sites included within the series of SSSIs
are intended collectively to comprise the full range of natural
and semi-natural habitats and the most important geological and
physiographical sites. The SSSI series should therefore include
all of our most valuable nature conservation and earth heritage
sites, selected on the basis of well-established and publicly
available scientific criteria."
1.3 SSSIs are the country's very best wildlife
and geological sites. They include some of our most spectacular
and beautiful habitats. They are essential to preserve our remaining
natural heritage that is under pressure from development, pollution,
climate change and inappropriate land management practices. SSSI
status is important since it provides a means of supporting habitats,
plants and animals that find it more difficult to survive in the
wider countryside, and in turn it protects a wide range of ecosystem
services that will be crucial in adapting to and mitigating the
effects of climate changes.
2. ISSUES
2.1 It is recognised that whilst the SSSI
series is largely sufficient for many interests, there are some
habitats and species not covered by the guidelines (eg fungi),
and some areas of the country where some features are not well
represented (eg lowland heathland in western Cornwall).
2.2 As our scientific understanding of the
needs of many habitats and species improves, and the predicted
impacts of climate change become more apparent, the existing series
needs to be kept under review (eg to ensure new features are adequately
protected and site boundaries reflect needs of dynamic systems).
We may also consider that a higher (or lower) proportion of the
total resource should be protected within the SSSI series.
2.3 The draft National Audit Office report
"Natural England's role in improving the condition of
Sites of Special Scientific Interest" recommends that
Natural England periodically reviews the coverage, interest features
and boundaries of SSSI and updates the current suite of SSSIs
appropriately. Such changes to the SSSI series would ensure that
the series remains responsive and resilient to changes in the
natural environment and our understanding of it, as well as highlighting
and building on the immense value of SSSIs to society. The review
should also consider denotification of sites (or parts thereof)
that are not considered to be of special interest, to ensure the
series as whole is not devalued.
2.4 In recent years, SSSI notifications
have been progressed largely on an ad hoc basis, with proposals
for new or amended sites generally being identified and put forward
by area teams; subsequently forming an annual programme of notifications.
In order to plug existing gaps in the series and ensure our effort
is focused on areas in need of greatest attention, it is timely
to put in place a more strategic approach to notification.
2.5 The current selection guidelines remain
substantially fit for purpose and there is no need to review them
in total. There are several generic issues, including the lack
of a biogeographical basis for the current "Areas of Search",
insufficient emphasis placed on a holistic approach to boundary
selection and the absence of any clear advice on the selection
of "archipelago" sites.
3. STRATEGIC
APPROACH
3.1 Given the general purpose and value
of SSSIs, the SSSI series should have the following three features:
1. It should comprise the full diversity and
range of habitats, species, and geological and physiographical
features (including the full range of natural and semi-natural
ecosystems and of important geological and physiographical phenomena)
throughout England.
2. It should contain our most valuable (important)
nature conservation and earth heritage sites. With value (and
thus special interest) considered as both a factor of intrinsic
conservation needs (of habitats and species) both now and in the
future and of the value of these features to society (for example,
for ecosystem services such as carbon storage and flood management).
It should also allow international and EU commitments to be met.
3. It should be comprised of individual SSSIs
that (as far as possible) are dynamic and resilient to the predicted
effects of climate change and comprise a network to increase connectivity
and reduce habitat fragmentation including entire management units
and follow a "whole system" approach. Sites should be
kept under review, to ensure the continued value of the series.
3.2 In order to ensure that the SSSI series
exhibits and retains these features, Natural England's strategic
approach to notifying new and amended SSSIs should be based on
the following principles aimed at addressing the issues identified
in section 2 (above):
— Priorities identified by the BAP process
would be a driver, although not the sole focus (since we need
to recognise for instance that some features are not BAP priorities
simply because existing mechanisms, such as SSSIs already provide
for their conservation).
— A strategy for notifications would need
to be mindful of the importance of features at EU and international
level, in addition to the national context.
— Identification of gaps and shortfalls
in existing SSSI coverage would be undertaken at a national level
in the context of an ecologically meaningful framework of geographical
selection units. Selection of individual sites to fill gaps or
validation of proposed sites from national analyses of coverage
would then be carried out locally.
— It will be explicit from the outset what
contribution a site makes to the overall purpose of the SSSI series,
with the coverage sought for a habitat or species in the series
informed by factors including its intrinsic value, vulnerability
and the importance attached to any ecosystem services provided.
— As far as possible, new and amended SSSIs
would be dynamic in the face of natural processes and resilient
to the predicted effects of climate change—this may mean
that they would accommodate space for natural processes, include
whole systems or features and sit within a functioning habitat
network.
4. IMPLEMENTING
A STRATEGIC
APPROACH
4.1 We have neither the resources nor the
necessary data to carry out all of the analyses and reviews for
all habitats and species in England, to form a complete view on
what a sufficient SSSI series (as per the purpose defined above)
would comprise. Whilst our longer term aim should clearly be to
have this level of understanding, this should not prevent us from
progressing notifications in areas where we are already clear
of the future needs for both the SSSI series and individual sites.
Work is currently underway and planned for the future to improve
our habitat inventories that will feed into these analyses and
increase their accuracy as they progress.
4.2 Work should progress in cases where
existing sites require notification amendments, and also in areas
where recent reviews of SSSI coverage have been undertaken and
in other cases where a strategic approach can easily be implemented
(perhaps for very rare habitats or species where the analyses
are straightforward). Where full reviews of coverage have not
commenced, specialist judgement and opinion will allow us to form
a view on whether there are significant gaps in coverage that
need to be addressed more immediately and what improvements to
our understanding and data might be necessary in order to progress
a more strategic notification programme.
4.3 Natural England will use expert judgement
and opinion, in addition to existing reviews of SSSI coverage,
to draw up a medium term strategy to plug gaps that Natural England
specialists are already aware of or can determine from existing
information. For each grouping of SSSI features we will:
1. Define the features for which SSSI notification
is appropriate.
2. Assess the contribution of the existing network,
in the context of overall coverage and existing sites, on the
basis of existing data (identifying shortfalls in data where necessary).
3. Form a view on the adequacy of the existing
SSSI series, and identify sites in immediate need of notification
amendments (either because interest lost though natural change
or favourable condition is dependent on changes to site boundaries,
interest features or operations regulated on the site). The adequacy
of existing SSSI boundaries and features of interest will be reviewed
as part of the Condition Assessment process.
4. Produce a prioritised plan of any future new
or amended notifications required to fill major gaps in coverage
or contribute to PSA target delivery.
4.4 In practice, this strategy will be implemented
through two parallel strands of work (see figure 1, below). Strand
one will be led by the relevant specialists in the Evidence Team,
who will review notification requirements, assess the adequacy
of the current SSSI series and identify any gaps in coverage.
The second strand aims to review the boundaries and interests
of existing SSSIs to ensure that they remain fit for purpose and
resilient. This will be led by regional teams and carried out
as part of the condition assessment process.
4.5 This strategy will be implemented from
2009-10. The rate of progress will be influenced by the expertise
within Natural England and the competing demands on specialists'
time. For example there are a number of gaps in current specialisms
that may hinder this work. Conversely in other areas it is already
possible to identify priorities for notifications, in the context
of a strategic approach. This means that the results of the national
analyses will be delivered over varying timescales for different
groups of interest features.
4.6 Similarly, the regional reviews will
run over a period of at least six years initially (based on the
common standards monitoring cycle) and then become part of business-as-usual
related to monitoring and conservation objectives. To ensure that
any issues are captured as they arise, we should add a reporting
requirement to ENSIS to flag where sites are "at risk"
in the medium to long term, and for which notification amendment
may be required.
Figure 1
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STRATEGY THROUGH TWO
STRANDS
Figure 2
RESULTS OF REVIEWS AND POSSIBLE SCENARIOS
FOR FUTURE NOTIFICATIONS
PREDICTED NOTIFICATION
SCENARIOS
These scenarios are developed by having regard
to existing Legislation, building on the principles developed
from previous challenges to SSSI notifications.
SCENARIO 1A—CHANGE
OF INTEREST
FEATURES WITHIN
EXISTING SITE
The reviews may identify sites with additional
interest features not explicitly referenced on the citation. Where
these features are fully protected by the existing citation, for
example a species that is reliant on a particular habitat and
its management there will be no need to amend the citation to
ensure its full protection. However, where the habitat or species
is not protected by the existing notification, because, (amongst
other reasons) it requires a different type of management regime,
the citation can be amended through the s.28(A) variation process,
to add these species or habitats to the citation. Guidelines are
needed for some features, most notably fungi, but lack of these
would not prevent Natural England amending a SSSI in the interim.
SCENARIO 1B—SAME
HABITAT/SPECIES
FEATURE ADJACENT
TO SITE—EXTENSION
TO SITE
The reviews may identify that there are areas
of land, adjacent to existing SSSIs that contain interest features,
that we would consider also of special interest, and may contribute
to resilience of the site to climate change. This additional land
can be added into an existing site, through s.28(B) notification
process.
SCENARIO 1C—ADJACENT
LAND SUPPORTS
PROCESSES THAT
MAINTAIN SPECIAL
INTEREST IN
EXISTING SITE
(eg sediment supply, hydrology, feeding habitat
of mobile species, etc)
The review may identify SSSIs have been notified
with boundaries that closely follow the extent of habitat distribution.
But such sites maybe reliant on sediment supply, hydrology, or
contain mobile species that use clearly identified feeding outside
existing boundaries. In these cases it would be possible under
existing guidelines to include this land within the boundaries.
SCENARIO 1D—DYNAMIC
SYSTEM NATURALLY
MIGRATING INTO
ADJACENT LAND
Where SSSIs are notified for dynamic habitats
and species, and there is clear evidence that these are naturally
migrating in new areas, it would be possible to include new areas
within the SSSI boundary, where it is reasonably predictable that
the special interest would be present in the future. Recent notification
that support this proposition are Breckland Farmland SSSI, Pakefield
to Easton Bavents SSSI and Compton Chine to Steephill Cove SSSI.
Where species are predicted to migrate, north for example through
the results of climate change, citations can be amended once the
species or habitat arrives, and may in some instances be added
to the citation, where there is sufficient evidence to satisfy
the requirement that it is reasonably predictable in the near
future.
SCENARIO 1E—PERMEABLE
HABITAT BETWEEN
SITES, ON
WHICH TO
MAINTAIN ECOLOGICAL
PROCESSES
Where there is a habitat type, on which a feature
relies to maintain ecological processes for the long term viability
of the SSSI, it would be possible to use the SSSI notification
to include this land, and include within an existing, or new SSSI.
Again there would need to be sufficient evidence to show the importance
of this area to the core site and the processes that it supports.
SCENARIO 2A—LAND
BETWEEN TWO
SITES, THAT
IS NOT
PERMEABLE HABITAT
(AND WOULD
NOT BE
WITHOUT ACTIVE
INTERVENTION IN
MANAGEMENT)
The review may identify sites, that need to
be incorporated within a habitat network, but all land between
is not permeable habitat. A stark example could be two fens in
a swathe of arable fields. It would be difficult to include the
land between as currently of special interest, since it does not
have a current interaction with the existing sites, and future
interest would rely on an active intervention. It would thus be
difficult to show that t is "reasonably predictable"
that the special interest would be present.
SCENARIO 2B—AREA
ADJACENT TO
AN EXISTING
SITE NOT
OF SPECIAL
INTEREST, WHERE
A PHYSICAL
MAN MADE
BARRIER EXISTS,
AND ACTIVE
INTERVENTION NEEDED
TO REMOVE
IMPEDIMENT TO
DYNAMIC SYSTEM
The review may identify a site that is enclosed,
by a physical barrier, preventing migration of dynamic habitats.
An example would be a coastal SSSI with a sea wall behind. The
land behind the wall could not reasonably be notified until such
a time as it was predictable that the special interest would be
within the site. Such a scenario may be after permissions were
received to breach the seawall.
4.7 During 2009-10, the following tasks
should be progressed:
1. Define the features for which SSSI notification
is appropriate across all groups and identify the areas of priority
for further analysis and review.
2. Complete national analyses of coverage for
straightforward groups.
3. Identify information needs and gaps in understanding
for less straightforward groups.
4. Targeted regional reviews of existing SSSIs
to identify any amendments required to support delivery of the
SSSI condition target.
5. Progress notification of high priority cases
and features that have already been strategically reviewed. The
likely priorities 2009-10 are:
— Bolton Fell Moss SSSI extension—necessary
to comply with our EU commitments.
— Any sites that are identified for the
three Habitats Directive Annex II species for which Defra have
undertaken to submit cSACs from August 2009—necessary to
comply with our EU commitments.
— Cornwall site for the globally critically
endangered many-fruited beardless moss Weissia multicapsularis
which is found nowhere else in the world (as noted in the State
of the Natural Environment Report)—an obvious gap in the
SSSI series and for which England holds entire global resource.
— New and amended earth heritage SSSIs
identified using the strategic rationale in the GCR—it is
clear the contribution these sites make to the earth heritage
SSSI series.
— Lowland neutral grassland sites for which
a recent strategic assessment has identified gaps in SSSI coverage—clear
the contribution each site will make towards a sufficient SSSI
series for the lowland neutral grassland habitat types.
— Whole site denotification where SSSIs
no longer contain features of special interest either due to natural
change or as a result of lawful activities.
4.8 As work progress into 2010-11, our efforts
should be focussed on:
1. Priority notification amendments needed to
support delivery of the SSSI condition target, identified by the
first regional reviews.
2. Priority notifications identified by the national
analyses of straightforward groups.
3. Further new and amended earth heritage SSSIs.
4. Filling information gaps to allow progress
on national analyses of SSSI coverage.
5. Embedding review of existing SSSI boundaries
and features in the condition assessment and conservation objective
processes.
6. Raising any proposals to review SSSI selection
guidelines with JNCC.
4.9 From 2011-12 onwards, the remaining
national analyses should be completed, regional reviews of existing
sites will continue and annual notification programmes will be
based on priorities arising from each strand. Any revisions to
the SSSI selection guidelines will be led by JNCC.
Annex 2
BACKGROUND AND SUPPORTING INFORMATION
SITES OF SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC INTEREST: A DRAFT
NOTIFICATION STRATEGY FOR ENGLAND
1. BACKGROUND
The SSSI notification provides Natural England
with a statutory duty to notify land which in its opinion is of
"special interest" by reason of its wildlife (habitats
and species) or geology. However, the natural environment is dynamic,
the nature of threats to it may change over time and our understanding
of habitats, species and geology is constantly developing. Mindful
of these facts, Parliament has also given Natural England powers
to amend existing SSSI notifications, either by varying interest
features, including additional land or both. Taken together, these
powers and duties provide Natural England with a means of conserving
areas that it considers to be of "special interest"
by reason of their wildlife (habitats and species) or geology.
Where land is not considered to be of special interest, Natural
England also has a power of "denotification" to remove
an existing notification from a SSSI, or any part of a SSSI.
There is no statutory purpose for SSSIs; however
a general purpose is defined in government policy. Defra's code
of guidance states that:
"The purpose of SSSIs is to safeguard,
for present and future generations, the diversity and geographic
range of habitats, species, and geological and physiographical
features, including the full range of natural and semi-natural
ecosystems and of important geological and physiographical phenomena
throughout England. The sites included within the series of SSSIs
are intended collectively to comprise the full range of natural
and semi-natural habitats and the most important geological and
physiographical sites. The SSSI series should therefore include
all of our most valuable nature conservation and earth heritage
sites, selected on the basis of well-established and publicly
available scientific criteria."
SSSIs are the country's very best wildlife and
geological sites. They include some of our most spectacular and
beautiful habitats. They are essential to preserve our remaining
natural heritage that is are under pressure from development,
pollution, climate change and inappropriate land management practices.
SSSI status is important since it provides a means of supporting
habitats, plants and animals that find it more difficult to survive
in the wider countryside, and in turn it protects a wide range
of ecosystem services that will be crucial in adapting to and
mitigating the effects of climate changes.
2. SELECTION
OF SSSIS
SSSIs have been selected over a period of almost
60 years, and the approach has evolved and developed during
that time. There are currently 4,115 SSSIs in England covering
just over 1 million hectares, with around 26,000 owners
and occupiers.
The Geological Conservation Review (GCR)
The objective of the earth science SSSI system
is to identify and conserve a Great Britain-wide series of SSSIs
for their "geology and physiography". Each site within
the series must have a special interest demonstrable at national
or international level, either in its own right or by virtue of
its contribution to a network of closely related sites. The special
interest of the series is interpreted as the minimum number of
sites needed to demonstrate our current understanding of the diversity
and range of earth science features.
The GCR is maintained by the Joint Nature Conservation
Committee (JNCC). The results are being published in a series
of 45 volumes (the GCR Series) and in the GCR database. JNCC
intends to carry out an ongoing incremental review of site coverage,
consulting with experts in the geological community. This may
result in proposals for new sites and suggestions for deletions.
In parallel, sites are also identified by academic geologists
and brought to the attention of Natural England (and the other
country agencies). Natural England may then propose addition of
sites to the GCR, subject to the support of the Chief Scientists
of the other two country agencies (CCW and SNH), since the GCR
area of search is Great Britain-wide. New proposals are typically
limited to sites identified for new GCR features, not additional
sites for existing features.
The GCR provides a robust approach to the selection
of earth heritage sites at the Great Britain level. It also provides
for the network of sites to be updated to reflect increased scientific
understanding, discovery of better examples of features or loss
of existing sites. Natural England can have confidence that proposals
for SSSIs that come forward from the GCR process represent a strategic
approach to selection of earth heritage sites.
Biological sites
Selection of biological SSSIs has not generally
benefited from such a structured rationale as used for the GCR.
The JNCC is responsible for maintaining and updating the guidelines.
The selection guidelines state that "biological interest"
has long been understood to mean:
"…the wildlife value of an area to
society for a broadly conceived range of cultural purposes which
include science, but also educational, aesthetic, and inspirational
values."
The guidelines are clearly referring to what
we now call "ecosystem services", although this reference
could be made more explicit and expanded to reflect our increased
understanding of ecosystem services. So, we may consider the concept
of biological special interest to have included both the intrinsic
wildlife importance and also the value attached to the ecosystem
services provided to society.
A consistent theme in the guidelines is that
for those habitats and species which have suffered widespread
loss, fragmentation and decline (such as most areas in the lowlands),
all remaining natural and semi-natural examples have interest.
In general, the rarer the habitat or the more threatened the remainder,
the higher is the nature conservation value of what is left.
On the other hand, for the larger expanses of
undeveloped habitat (such as in the uplands), it is considered
important that a proportion of the total area is selected for
SSSI notification, that is sufficient to represent the complete
field of biological interest, in the event that all the rest should
change or disappear. This has led to two main approaches to site
selection:
— Minimum standards, generally apply to
those habitats and species that are rarer and more threatened.
All examples above a minimum qualitative and-or quantitative threshold
are eligible for selection. Some habitats and most species groups
are selected in this way (see table 1, below).
— Exemplar representation, in the case
of the habitats and species that are still widespread. As the
guidelines have evolved, fewer habitats and species groups are
selected on this basis, although still a considerable proportion
(see table 1, below).
Table 1
DIFFERING APPROACHES TO BIOLOGICAL SSSI SELECTION
| Minimum standards:
| Exemplar representation: |
— Saltmarshes (1989)
— shingle beaches and structures (1989)
— lowland grasslands (1989)
— heathlands (1989)
— lowland ditch systems (1989, revised 1997)
— rare fen types (1989)
— bogs (1994)
— more restricted upland habitats (1989)
— vascular plants (1989)
— non-vascular plants (1992)
— bats (1989)
— most birds (1989)
— reptiles and amphibians (1989)
— nationally rare freshwater and estuarine fish (1989, revised 1997)
— invertebrates (1989)
— the rarest butterflies (1989)
— dragonflies (1989)
| — sand dunes (1989)
— sea cliffs and slopes (1989)
— intertidal marine habitats (1996)
— saline lagoons (1996)
— woodlands (1989, revised 2006 for veteran trees)
— non-montane rock habitats (1989)
— standing waters (1989, revised 1997)
— flowing waters (1989, revised 1997)
— most fens (1989)
— widespread upland habitats (1989)
— mammals (except bats) (1989, revised 2005 for water voles)
— isolated breeding bird colonies (1989)
— some freshwater and estuarine fish (1989, revised 1997)
— most butterflies (1989)
|
| |
3. CURRENT COVERAGE
OF THE
SSSI SERIES
There are 879 different interest features for which
SSSIs have been notified. Of these, 260 interest features
have only one site notified (see figure 1, above). The majority
of these features are species. Some of these (such as Sussex emerald
moth) are very rare species found at only a single site, which
has been duly notified. Others (such as breeding mute swan) have
been picked up under a different feature (in this case a wetland
breeding bird assemblage) at a much larger number of sites—so,
whilst only one site is notified for this species in its own right,
there are over 150 SSSI with breeding bird assemblages that
can include mute swan. Similarly, there are eight SSSI in England
where breeding hen harriers are notified in their own right, but
a further 36 sites where they may form part of an assemblage
of upland breeding birds.
At the other end of the scale, the feature with the most
sites selected (619) is the neutral grassland National Vegetation
Classification (NVC) type MG5 crested dog's-tail Cynosurus
cristatus—common knapweed Centaurea nigra grassland.
This equates to almost one in seven of all SSSIs, yet this should
not necessarily be considered sufficient. This grassland type
is highly fragmented and exists in very small patches, generally
less than 5 ha and often less than 1-2 ha. So, we still
have only around 50% of the resource within SSSIs. (This is the
type of habitat for which the selection guidelines advocate the
selection of all remaining examples.) An analysis of the coverage
of broad habitat types in the existing SSSI series reveals variation
in the amount of the total resource contained within the SSSI
series (see table 2, below). This variation may be due to application
of exemplar v threshold guidelines, or may highlight a more fundamental
gap in the series that needs further investigation.
Table 2
COVERAGE OF HABITATS (BASED ON THE CATEGORIES USED IN
THE STATE OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT REPORT)
| Habitat | England
resource
(ha)
| Within SSSI | Within SSSI notified for this feature
| Number of
corresponding
SSSI notified
features [25]
|
| | Area
| % | Area | %
| |
Blanket bog | 255,308
| 176,140 | 69% | 175,315
| 69% | 7 |
| Lowland raised bogs | 10,227 |
8,949 | 88% | 8,046
| 79% | |
| Broadleaved, mixed and yew woodland | 510,292
| 82,797 | 16% | 75,559
| 15% | 22 |
| Fen | 21,927 | 19,533
| 89% | 17,427 | 79%
| 52[26]
|
| Lowland acid grassland | 12,202
| 7,305 | 60% | 3,199
| 26% | 16[27]
|
| Habitat | England
resource
(ha)
| Within SSSI | Within SSSI notified for this feature
| Number of
corresponding
SSSI notified
features 28
|
| | Area
| % | Area | %
| |
Lowland calcareous grassland |
53,945 | 42,715 | 79%
| 42,501 | 79% | 14
|
| Upland calcareous grassland | 12,293
| 8,485 | 69% | 8,361
| 68% | |
| Lowland meadows | 20,378 |
10,948 | 54% | 10,307
| 51% | 12 |
| Upland hay meadows | 2,024 |
1,470 | 73% | 1,072
| 53% | |
| Lowland heathland | 72,331 |
48,289 | 67% | 46,428
| 64% | 22 |
| Upland heathland | 243,929 |
179,912 | 74% | 176,185
| 72% | |
| Maritime cliff and slope | 14,545
| 8,484 | 58% | 5,232
| 36% | 9 |
| Sand dunes | 12,800 | 10,928
| 85% | 10,553 | 82%
| 19 |
28 This column shows the complexity of the interest features; for example the habitat "blanket bog" is represented in the SSSI series by seven separate types (in this case NVC communities), each of which may require individual assessment of SSSI coverage.
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25
This column shows the complexity of the interest features; for
example the habitat "blanket bog" is represented in
the SSSI series by seven separate types (in this case NVC communities),
each of which may require individual assessment of SSSI coverage. Back
26
Includes all "fen, marsh and swamp" notified features. Back
27
Includes upland acid grassland notified features. Back
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