Tardee Upland Pastures Biodiversity Profile

In the following account of this LCA it should be noted that for consistency, the biodiversity section follows the standard order for all LCAs even though some of the communities discussed later may have more importance for biodiversity than those discussed earlier.

Key Characteristics

• extensive plateau slopes with drained, peaty soils covered by coarse grassland
• heather moors on some of the higher summits
• broadleaved woodland scarce, but coniferous forest (Tardree Forest) dominates the southwest
• lowland occupied by improved pastures, but with damp and very rushy grasslands intermixed
• field boundaries in lowlands in poorly managed hedgerows or ditches with post and wire fencing.

Woodlands

Woodlands occupy 3% of the LCA with coniferous forest comprising almost all of this. The majority of Tardree State Forest is in the southwest, extending from Tardree Mountain to just south of Tobernaveen Hill. Sitka spruce is the dominant tree species followed by Norway spruce and Japanese larch; intimate broadleaved mixtures account for about 4% of the planting. Red squirrel is the only Priority Species that has been recorded in Tardree Forest, although there is a diversity of birdlife. Small patches of mature conifer planting are common on the hill slopes in this part of Antrim, but in this LCA there are only one or two on the north slopes of Big Collin - almost entirely of Sitka spruce. A more recent plantation near Mountainview is of conifers, but on the western side of the Douglas Burn a mixed conifer and broadleaved plantation is being established.

Broadleaved and mixed woodland is scarce; a notable example is Longmore Wood: this is mixed woodland that includes sessile oak, sycamore, ash and other broadleaves, but also European larch and Scots pine.

Grassland and Arable

Grasslands account for over 80% of the LCA with improved grasslands comprising more than half. However, the improved grasslands are variable. In the flat valley floor of the Glenwhirry River, damp rough grasslands are widespread, but those intermixed improved grasslands that have not been managed well have become infested with rushes. On the slopes also, unless well-managed, pasture fields merge gradually into rough grassland. These damp rough grasslands dominate many of the slopes and low plateau surfaces of this LCA; the thin peat has been drained over very large areas, especially in the north. Breeding waders such as lapwing, curlew, redshank and snipe have been recorded on these extensive, open slopes, as has the Irish Hare.

At lower altitudes where hedges form the dominant field boundaries, they are generally poorly maintained. In other lowland areas, hedges are absent and field boundaries are ditches with post and wire fencing.

Blanket Bog

Although uplands are extensive in the LCA there is little deep peat - one small patch of cut-over bog remains near Black Top. In contrast, peaty soils are extensive; on the summits these often have common heather as a major constituent of the vegetation (wet heath/upland heathland). On the slopes, extensive tracts of thin peat have been drained and are dominated by coarse grasses (see above). Marsh fritillary butterfly has been recorded from these upland thin peats as well as from damp grasslands along the Glenwhirry River. Extensive sheep grazing is the predominant use, but there are few signs of overgrazing.

Wetlands

Open standing water is confined to small reservoirs - Tildarg Dam and the smaller Breckenhill Dam. None of the rivers have records of Priority Species, apart from the otter. The Glenwhirry is a salmonid river.

Key Issues

General actions for UK and NI Priority Habitats and Priority Species are detailed in the Habitat Action Plans and Species Action Plans.

WOODLANDS

Issue: woodland cover is predominantly coniferous and of low biodiversity value; Tardree State has records of the NI Priority Species red squirrel

Actions:

• replanting of harvested areas of Tardree State Forest could provide an opportunity to increase the proportion of broadleaves, softening the forest edge and providing for greater biodiversity
• enhance the biodiversity value of broadleaved woodlands e.g. Longmore Wood, by discouraging any further felling or pollarding; by retention of fallen and veteran trees (particularly for bryophytes, ferns, fungi and fauna); ensure that any hazel scrub is not cleared
• encourage control of grazing in broadleaved woodlands to foster herb layer and regeneration and if necessary, encourage replanting of canopy species; removal of invasive species could increase the diversity of ground flora, especially where the canopy species are not beech
• further study of the history and biodiversity of broadleaved woodlands within the LCA, particularly any ancient and long-established, as a key to future management
• enhance biodiversity through measures to improve and extend woodland cover such as The Woodland Grant Scheme or The Farm Woodland Premium Scheme
• management plans for broadleaf woodland should be directed toward their survival, through natural regrowth or planting of native broadleaf species; farmers and landowners could be encouraged to plant in river valleys, field corners, along stream-sides or in set-aside fields

GRASSLAND AND ARABLE

Issue: lowlands are occupied by improved pastures of low biodiversity value and enclosed by poorly managed hedges

Actions:

• encourage (through participation in Environmental Schemes) adoption/continuance of less intensive management of pastures to allow reversion to/continuance of more species-rich grassland
• manage grazing levels to ensure that important grassland areas are not encroached by scrub vegetation or experience a fall in species richness due to overgrazing
• maintain and enhance damp rough grassland near Glenwhirry River by where, possible, restricting field or arterial drainage
• maintain and improve field boundaries, especially hedgerows where they occur through adoption of correct cutting cycles; hedge laying and replanting where necessary; leave saplings uncut to develop into hedgerow trees; avoidance of spraying with fertilisers, slurry, herbicides through a move to organic farming; provision of wildlife strips and conservation headlands around fields; and limitation of field amalgamation
• leave stubble over winter, rather than autumn ploughing to increase food resources for farmland birds; spring-sown cereals are beneficial to farmland birds
• ensure that further clearance of boulders does not occur on pastoral or arable land

HEATHS AND BOGS

Issue: this LCA only retains one patch of cut-over bog

Actions:

• prevent new forest planting on remnant cut-over bog, especially where there is the possibility of restoration to active growth

Issue: the NI Priority Habitat upland heathland occurs on some higher summits

Actions:

• promote membership of ESA or Moorland schemes through consultation with farmers and thereby
• control grazing intensity on existing heathland to encourage development of heathland and of heather of different ages
• discourage 'reclamation' to pasture fields around heathland margins
• discourage afforestation

WETLANDS AND LAKES

Issue: open standing waters and the Glenwhirry river are under threat from agricultural practices

Actions:

• promote and encourage adoption of Countryside Management guidelines so that reservoirs and rivers are not polluted by releases from silage effluent, herbicides, pesticides, fertilisers or sheep dip; ensure that eutrophication does not occur as a result of nutrient-rich surface waters from surrounding farmland
• monitor the Glenwhirry river in relation to particulate pollution - important for salmon that nursery and spawning beds are clear
• monitor rivers in relation to expansion of rural/urban housing and associated septic tanks/sewage treatment plants
• monitor effects of recreation, including fishing, on freshwater communities

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