Green infrastructure (GI) is defined in the North West Green Infrastructure Guide (GRITT 2007) thus: “Green infrastructure is the region’s life support system – the network of natural environmental components and green and blue spaces that lies within and between the north west’s cities, towns and villages and provides multiple social, economic and environmental benefits.”… Read More »
1 Current status 1.1 National There are over 2,000 miles of canals and inland waterways in Britain. In their heyday there were more than 5,000 miles of canal. The canals and inland waterways are in various states of repair with approximately 60% still operational, i.e. in use by boats. British Waterways among others is an… Read More »
1 Current status 1.1 National Approximately 7% (1.5 million hectares) of Great Britain is covered by conifer woodland. Ownership is evenly split between Forest Enterprise and the private sector. Stands are usually single species with some 40% being Sitka Spruce. However mixed plantations are common at the forest scale and older thinned stands often develop… Read More »
Field Boundaries contain a large proportion of the biodiversity in arable landscapes. For the purposes of this plan, the term ‘field boundaries’ refers to boundary structures such as hedgerows, hedgebanks, drains and ditches. It also includes field margins and buffer strips, lying between the crop and the field boundary, along with infield structures such as… Read More »
1 Current status 1.1 National Lowland acid grassland is usually found on nutrient-poor, generally free-draining soils that have pH ranging from 4 to 5.5 and overlying acid rock or sands and gravels. Lowland acid grassland is defined as both enclosed and unenclosed acid grassland below 300metres. It can often be found as an integral part… Read More »
1 Current status 1.1 National Lowland heath is characterised by dwarf shrubs, such as heather and dwarf gorses. It usually occurs below 300 metres. Habitats such as acid grassland, scrub and woodland form part of heathland but dwarf shrubs such as heather dominate. Lowland heath is a priority for nature conservation because it is a… Read More »
1 Current status 1.1 National Typically, lowland mixed broadleaf woodland is associated with a wide range of fertile, moist loams and clays. Lowland mixed broadleaf woodland overlaps with several other woodland types. Mixed broadleaf woodland has a maximum of 10% conifers in the tree canopy. On moderately base-poor soils oak and birch predominate in the… Read More »
1 Current status 1.1 National In the UK lowland raised bogs are a particular feature of cool, rather humid regions such as the north-west lowlands of England, the central and north-east lowlands of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but remnants also occur in some southern and eastern localities, for example Somerset, South Yorkshire and Fenland.… Read More »
1 Current status 1.1 National Lowland wood pastures and parklands are the products of historic land management systems, and represent a vegetation structure rather than a typical plant community. Their structure normally consists of large open grown high forest trees or pollards in a mix of grassland or other habitats. Wood pastures and parklands were… Read More »
1 Current status 1.1 National Ponds were originally included in the NM BAP as a ‘local’ habitat, but the 2007 national priority list review added Ponds as a full UK BAP priority habitat. UK BAP Priority Habitat ponds are defined as permanent and seasonal standing water bodies up to 2ha in extent which meet one… Read More »