Biodiversity and why it matters

Biodiversity (or biological diversity) can be defined as the variety of life on Earth. It includes all species of plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms like bacteria and their interrelationships. Each of these species and organisms work together in ecosystems, like an intricate web, to maintain balance and support life.

Biodiversity is essential for the processes that support all life on Earth, including humans. Without a wide range of plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms, we cannot have the healthy ecosystems that we rely on to provide us with oxygen, clean water, food, medicine and shelter (often referred to as ‘Ecosystem Services’).

Biodiversity also provides other benefits and services including climate regulation; natural flood management; crop pollination, raw materials for industry and agriculture, tourism assets, access to nature for health, wellbeing and recreation and much more.

The biodiversity of Warwick District is a tremendous asset. It gives the district its special character, supports farming, tourism and other economic opportunities and provides a wonderful environment for peoples’ mental and physical wellbeing. Therefore, it is vitally important that we protect, conserve and enhance biodiversity in the district.

The Climate and Biodiversity Emergency: a joined-up approach

Biodiversity and climate change are interconnected. Habitats and species are affected by climate change with some being degraded or extinguished as a result. But nature also plays  a vital role in climate change mitigation and adaptation through the ecosystem services it supports, most notably by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, reducing air temperatures, improving air quality and providing natural flood management.

A joined-up approach is needed! Protecting, conserving and enhancing biodiversity is crucial to addressing climate change and helping us to adapt to the more extreme weather we’re already experiencing, which is only set to worsen. At the same time, doing all we can to prevent further changes in our climate will help to support nature’s recovery and survival.

The need for a Biodiversity Action Programme

National context

The UK is now considered to be one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth.

Agricultural management, inappropriate development, climate change, hydrological change, urbanisation, pollution, woodland management and invasive non-native species are all putting significant pressures on nature and leading to biodiversity loss.

Key statistics froom the State of Nature report (PDF)

Local context

On a local scale, Warwick District is home to numerous habitats which have been identified nationally as being most at threat and requiring conservation and enhancement (under section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act 2006). These habitats are also known as Habitats of Principle Importance (HoPI).

The Habitats of Principle Importance (HoPI) found in Warwick District are described as follows:

Lowland Mixed Deciduous Woodland (including Ancient Woodland)

Lowland Mixed Deciduous Woodland was the dominant habitat of lowland Britain. It is now much reduced in area and severely fragmented with a consequential loss of species diversity at many sites. Approximately 11% of Ancient Woodland (530 hectares) in Warwickshire was destroyed between 1925 and 1988, and a further 38% (1797 hectares) was converted to plantation (Warwickshire AWI, 1989).

Neglect, through a cessation of coppicing, has been an equally significant factor in the loss of woodland biodiversity since the mid-1900s. Some examples of bluebell-rich ancient woods in Warwick District include:

• Thickthorn
• Crackley
• Oakley
• Chase
• Poor
• Cubbington
• Hay
• Bubbenhall
• Wappenbury
• Bullimore
• Weston-Waverley

Plus some smaller examples. These contain good numbers of scarce plants and insects as well as the largest Raven roost in the Midlands.

Wood Pasture and Parkland

Warwick District has an unusually high coverage  of Wood Pasture and Parkland (WPP) habitat compared to other areas, covering over 1000 hectares! WPP sites are often made up of a mixture of habitats, from densely wooded groves to more open areas. Some examples of Wood-Pasture and Parkland in the district include:

• Stoneleigh
• Wroxhall
• Wedgenock
• Warwick Castle Park
• Kenilworth Chase
• Packwood
• Baddesley Clinton

Ancient wood pasture and parklands have accumulated the ‘old- growth’ characteristics that are missing from many enclosed woodlands and make an important contribution to the local character of the district (and ‘Shakespeare’s County’).

Rivers

Watercourses are among the most important wildlife corridors within the intensively farmed local landscapes and within urban areas. They also contribute much to local landscape character. Within Warwick District the largest river is the Avon which extends for more than 102km and its tributaries account for 205km.

The river is an integral part of the district’s Avon Valley (Shakespeare’s Avon) character with a varied river channel which, in places, retains a more natural profile where features such as gravel banks, riffles and beds of vegetation still exist. These are important for biodiversity and can provide homes for species such as otter.

Hedgerows

Hedgerows usually form boundary features to enclose fields, run along roads and properties. They provide an important network of wildlife corridors and are characteristic of the English countryside.

These wildlife corridors also have the potential to support hundreds of species of plants and animals if managed correctly. Within Warwick District there is over 914km of hedgerows.

Arable Field Margins

Arable Field Margins are strips along the perimeter of farmed land often sown with wildflowers for pollinators, to provide seed for birds or left as unmanaged grassland and herbs. As well as providing an important refuge for wildflowers, field margins also provide buffer strips between farming operations and sensitive habitats such as woodlands, hedgerows, watercourses and ditches.

The extent of arable field margins in Warwick District is currently unknown, however there is estimated to be approximately 818 hectares across Warwickshire.

Lowland Meadow

Lowland meadows are important for wildlife as the vast majority of this habitat has been lost and is now considered a rare sight. They are species-rich habitats with a wide range of plants and grasses, which generally occur in a relatively small area. Within Warwick District, Lowland Meadow currently occupies approximately 27 hectares.

Floodplain Grazing Marsh

Floodplain Grazing Marsh is usually found following the floodplains of rivers and streams. It is characterised by having a water table at or above ground level (flooding) for some part of the year. Ditches are an important feature of this habitat and can support a variety of marginal and aquatic plant species, boosting the botanical value of this habitat type.

Away from the importance for plant species, grazing marshes are of major importance to birds and can be home to a number of rare species. Within Warwick District, Floodplain Grazing Marsh occupies approximately 241 hectares.

In addition to these nationally important habitats, Warwick District is also home to several other habitat types, along with numerous nationally important species that rely on those habitats for shelter, food and commuting pathways. The decline and degradation of habitats has a knock-on effect on these species, with many populations also in decline.

Warwick District Council has an important role to play locally in protecting, conserving and enhancing biodiversity to halt the decline in these habitats and species and help nature to recover.