Sustainability of grazing on sand dune systems

 

Ponies grazing

Project code 

QU08-06

Contact

Dr. Neil Reid

Project staff

Lyndsey Herron

Supervisor(s)

Prof. Christine Maggs

Client

NIEA

Funding

NHRP

Client Officer(s)

Paul Corbitt

Collaborator(s)

Dr Jim McAdam (AFBI), National Trust, MOD & UWT

Start date

01/10/2008

End date

30/09/2012

 

Northern Ireland 's coastal areas are particularly rich in biodiversity. Its sand dunes contain a range of internationally important habitats from young systems at the Bann mouth and Magilligan to ancient dunes at Murlough National Nature Reserve in Dundrum Bay .

 

Sand dunes provide a habitat for many different types of flora and fauna ranging from the UK red-listed smooth cat’s ear (Hypochoeris glabra) to the endemic Irish hare (Lepus timidus hibernicus). It is estimated that Northern Ireland has approximately 3000ha of sand dunes of which between 1300-1500ha are vegetated (NIEA, 2005). As elsewhere, the dune systems of Northern Ireland have suffered habitat loss through direct anthropogenic alteration.

 

Sea Buckthorn (Eleagnus rhamnoides)
Sea Buckthorn (Eleagnus rhamnoides)

The Coastal Sand Dunes Habitat Action Plan lists scrub encroachment, including invasion by alien Sea Buckthorn (Eleagnus rhamnoides), as one of the most serious threats to dune systems in Northern Ireland . Prescriptive grazing can be an effective conservation management technique for the restoration of dune vegetation. For example, encroachment of gorse (Ulex europaeus), scrub and other rank grasses was reversed at Murlough by reintroducing rabbits and winter grazing by sheep, rare breed cattle and Dartmoor ponies (Barne et al. 1997, McAleenan 1999). Furthermore, at Ballymaclary Nature Reserve, grazing stopped for operational reasons, which resulted in extensive scrub encroachment (Barne et al. 1997). Nevertheless, if mismanaged overgrazing may occur.

 

This 4 year PhD aims to evaluate the effects of grazing as an effective conservation tool as set out in the Coastal Sand Dune Habitat Action Plan. This project will investigate the affects of both scrub clearance and grazing on young and ancient dunes. Specifically, we aim to:

 

1.       Establish the effect of livestock grazing on sand dune plant communities, particularly scrub

2.       Differentiate the effects of grazing by livestock and wild rabbits on plant communities

3.       Determine the potential affect of grazing on sand erosion and dune stability

4.       Establish the degree to which grazers influence dune nutrient flow

5.       Establish the distribution of invasive alien species including sea buckthorn on NI dunes

6.       Evaluate the efficacy of agri-environment scheme measures in conserving dune quality

 

The Natural Heritage Research Partnership (NHRP) is funded by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA)