1. Oxfordshire State of Nature Report – an overview
Graham Scholey
Conservation Technical Specialist

2. SoN – Project Board Hilary Phillips – primary author Helen Marshall
Nick Mottram
Sian Liwicki
Mike Pollard
Neil Clennel
Graham Scholey

3. Oxfordshire SoN - Background
Making Space for Nature – the Lawton report
Natural Environment White Paper ‘The natural choice – securing the value of nature’
2011 national ecosystem assessment
2013 and 2016 National ‘State of Nature’ reports
Biodiversity 2020
Defra 25-yr Plan

4. Data sources and contributors
Base-line data held by Wild Oxfordshire and datasets compiled by key local recording groups and experts (such as Freshwater Habitats Trust, Oxfordshire Flora Group, RSPB (Midlands), Oxfordshire and Banbury Ornithological Societies, Upper Thames Butterfly Conservation, Oxfordshire Flora Group and Oxfordshire Mammal Group)
Current information of area of Priority Habitat in the county, as supplied by Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (TVERC) with additional information from the local Forestry Commission (FC), Natural England (NE) and the Environment Agency (EA)
An analysis of change in land cover provided by TVERC
Information from the Local Wildlife Sites project, jointly run by TVERC and Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT)

5. What is the Oxfordshire SoN report?
It summarises the best information currently available to paint a picture of the overall state of Oxfordshire’s natural environment
It seeks to set this in the context of current and historical data, to give an understanding of long-term trends as well as more recent losses and gains in habitats and species
It will be the basis for a shorter advocacy document
It will be updated regularly

6. Main Features of the Report
Summarise status and cause of change, with case studies, for:
-Lowland semi-natural grassland and heathland
-Freshwaters and wetlands
-Woodland and Trees (4.2% of county)
-Farmland (70% of the county)
-Settlements (8.6% of the county)
Followed by: ‘How to improve nature in Oxfordshire’

7. What’s special about Oxfordshire?
Oxfordshire has some of the rarest and finest grasslands in the country
Oxfordshire’s limestone and chalk grassland support the bulk of the UK population of meadow clary, Chiltern gentian and downy woundwort
The county’s wet grasslands support the vast majority of the UK’s population of creeping marshwort and fen violet
Oxfordshire has an outstanding pond resource with a wide range of pond types, which support some of our rarest and most vulnerable aquatic plants and animals

8. Oxfordshire – other important attributes
162 SSSIs wholly or partly in the county (4500Ha) of which ‘45% favourable’; 370 Local Wildlife Sites (5650Ha).
Oxfordshire has 146 legally protected species and 260 priority (NERC Act) species
Three of the UK’s 150 Important Plant Areas are in the county
Important habitat restoration and creation projects, such as that at Wytham valley fens, Chimney Meadows, Pinkhill Meadow, Otmoor RSPB Reserve
Large number of active environment focused community groups

11. Lowland semi-natural grassland and heathland
Includes floodplain grazing marsh, hay meadows, chalk and limestone grassland, acid grassland, heathland
Amount of semi-natural grassland has remained stable in Oxon since 1998, set against national decline of 98% since 1934.
Internationally important site at Oxford Meadows – 5.6% of national MG4 resource

12. Wet grassland and breeding waders

13. Freshwater and Wetlands
Includes rivers and streams and associated wetland habitats - fens, gravel pits, reedbeds, permanent and temporary ponds, wet grassland and wet woodland
WFD major driver for improvements to riverine and groundwater quality – major legacy of impacts to overcome
8km of river restored in the last five years

14. Freshwater and Wetlands
-Oxfordshire has an outstanding pond resource, including Little Wittenham SAC, and the Pinkhill Meadow complex (20% of all UK wetland plant and invertebrate species) -Cothill Fen is the largest surviving alkaline fen in central England -lack of management is a significant pressure in loss of good value fen habitat

15. Restoring floodplain connectivity and function
River of Life project, nr Shillingford, Oxon
42% of UK rivers are disconnected from their floodplain
The River of Life is a wetland creation and river restoration project developed over three years, since 2010, when the Earth Trust purchased new land which bordered 2 km of the River Thames in Shillingford, Oxon. Construction of the project was undertaken from October to December 2013.
The project aimed to create high quality floodplain habitats to meet national biodiversity targets, including 20 ponds, a fen, two reedbeds and herb-rich grassland. In total, the project has improved over 50 ha of Earth Trust land and created (once the habitats establish) over 35 ha of new priority habitat.
In addition, five large backwaters have been excavated which are connected to the River Thames. These backwaters will provide refuge areas for fish during flood events and valuable areas for fish fry to develop. These backwaters are deemed to be critical features in helping this reach of the Thames meet its objectives under the Water Framework Directive. Off-line refuge habitats are considered a limiting factor in the health of our fish populations on the main Thames.
The scheme design makes the most of its floodplain situation by not only relying on flood events to support some of the floodplain features, but the project also helps to reduce flood risk through the removal of spoil out of the floodplain. The wetland features have been integrated into the drainage pattern of the local catchment to intercept run-off from agricultural land, to process and store silt and nutrients and reduce run-off rates. .
FACT: 42% of UK rivers are disconnected from their floodplain

16. Planned restoration at Gill Mill

17. Woodland
73% of Oxfordshire’s woodland is broad-leaved or predominantly broad-leaved
We have 8,919ha of ancient semi-natural woodland
38% of the county’s woodlands are less than 10Ha in size
Since 1980 there has been an increase of 6,033ha (42%) of woodland more than 2ha in size
Parkland, wood-pasture and veteran trees are an important component
There are 873 traditional orchards

18. Case study – woodland birds

19. Farmland
Agricultural pollution contributes 50-60% of nitrates, 20-30% of phophates and 75% of sediment into England’s Rivers
Bird and Butterfly populations have shown long-term declines on farmland
4,207 Ha of Priority Habitat in the county were managed under agri-environment agreements
Nearly 55,000 metres of hedgerow were restored and 21,000 ha of margins/buffer strips planted between 2006 and 2014 in Oxfordshire

20. Settlements
-66% of Oxfordshire’s population lives in an urban setting -The Green infrastructure within settlements benefit people and wildlife alike -Churchyards cover 198 ha of the county, and allotments 251 ha -Swifts have declined by 47% between 1994 and Gardens hold 86% of all ponds

21. Oxfordshire – environmental pressures
The trend for an increase in urban land cover has been mainly at the expense of arable and grassland habitats
Key threats to habitats and species are overgrazing, habitat fragmentation and isolation, invasive species, lack of appropriate management, pollution, changes in farming practice and new pests and diseases
Climate change has both negative and positive effects on plants and animals – and will impact flooding, water resources etc
Lack of investment in and consideration of natural resources and services across sectors – lack of integrated approach

22. Make a difference projects
At Otmoor RSPB reserve focused management has resulted in increases recorded for lapwings (66%), redshanks (70%) and snipe (100%) and after an absence of about 200 years, bittern and marsh harrier have returned to breed in the reed beds
During the period 2008 to 2016, against the backdrop of a national decline, the total water vole Local Key Areas in Oxfordshire increased more than three-fold as a result of the Water Vole Recovery Project
The River of Life project has improved over 50 ha of Earth Trust land and once the habitats establish will have created over 35 ha of new priority habitat

23. State of nature in Oxfordshire – what next?
“more, bigger, better and joined” ?
How
“become more dynamic and ambitious in what we seek to achieve”?
“by changing the way in which people interact with the natural environment and the demands we place upon it”?
By having a much more integrated approach across land-use planning, agricultural support and natural resource management?
The Way Forward…..