Realm: Terrestrial
Climate: Temperate
Biome: Flooded grasslands and savannas Central latitude: 53.593589
Central longitude: -3.069399
Duration: 6 years, from 1974 to 2010
Climate: Temperate
Biome: Flooded grasslands and savannas Central latitude: 53.593589
Central longitude: -3.069399
Duration: 6 years, from 1974 to 2010
2160 records
75 distinct species
Across the time series Salix repens is the most frequently occurring speciesMethods
Sefton Coast Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is located in North West England and consists of a 2074-ha coastal belt of frontal dunes approximately 30 km long and 24 km wide. There is a transition from active dynamic dunes on the seaward side to largely stable dunes inland. Ainsdale Sand Dunes National Nature Reserve (53º35?N, 03º05?W) was established in 1965 and forms the central section of the Sefton Coast SAC. It is also a Site of Special Scientific interest (SSSI). The site contains a large area of fixed dunes and dune slacks. The water-table is intensively monitored and rises and falls by over 50 cm in most years. In a typical year, 30% of the slacks are flooded to a depth of 1030 cm, with 10% remaining flooded in the summer. Rabbits have been present since at least the late 17th century when the dunes were managed as warrens. The site still has a large rabbit population, which until 1991 was the only source of grazing. In 1991, livestock grazing was introduced onto the site, consisting mainly of a herd of approximately 200 Herdwick Sheep at an approximate density of 1·5 sheep ha?1 year?1 and graze between September/October and May/June (approximately 200 sheep on 54 ha for 8 months of the year). They are moved around four enclosures and so each enclosure is grazed intermittently throughout the winter. In 2012 cattle were added to the sheep grazing. Mean ± SE annual rainfall is 849 ± 18·4 mm; mean annual maximum and minimum temperatures are respectively 13·6 ± 0·2 °C and 6·1 ± 0·1 °C. N deposition is approximately 13·7 ± 0·3 kg N ha?1 year?1. This level of N deposition is intermediate for the UK and is at the critical load threshold for this habitat of 1015 kg N ha?1 year?1. In 1974, rabbit exclosures were erected in four dune slacks. These slacks were located along a 1-km transect orientated parallel to, and approximately 500 m from, the coast line, with one slack at either end and two located 60 m apart in the centre. Within each slack, three 1-m-high, 1·5 × 1·5 m rabbit exclosures were constructed. In 1991, when sheep grazing was introduced, sheep exclosures (1-m-high, 10 × 20 m) were erected around the rabbit exclosures at two of the dune slacks. These exclosures were impermeable to sheep, but permeable to rabbits. Initially, vegetation was surveyed in one 1 × 0·5 m plot within each rabbit exclosure (n = 3 per slack) and two 1 × 0·5 m plots per slack outside of the exclosures (with the exception of one dune slack where 3 such plots were established). Where erected, the sheep exclosures enclosed all survey plots in the dune slack. Therefore, additional survey plots were established outside of the sheep exclosures in 2009 (n = 3 per slack). Vegetation composition was measured immediately after the rabbit enclosures were erected in July 1974 and then in June/July of 1975, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 2009. The exceptions were the plots established in 2009 (only measured in 2009) and plots where the rabbit exclosures disintegrated and therefore failed to exclude rabbits or sheep (not measured in 2009). At the same time, new rabbit exclosures were erected in the same locations as, and to the same specification of, the original exclosures. The rabbit exclosures were also successful in excluding sheep from the plots. Vegetation composition is measured using the line-point intercept method. Wire pins (2 mm in diameter) are inserted vertically into the vegetation at 5-cm intervals along a 1-m V-shaped transect (n = 20 pins per plot). The number of times each plant species touched each pin is recorded. The number of hits per species was used as a measure of the biomass of that species.Citation(s)
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