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Caveats to the use of cattle and other grazing animals on
sand dunes
The following issues are some of those which need to borne in mind when restoring
or attempting to sustain grazing management on sand dunes:
- Whilst cattle can help remove some coarser grass species modern breeds are
reluctant to graze the coarsest species such as wood small-reed Calamagrostis
epigejos. This is a species which can invade dune slacks;
- Cattle can also help create openings in the dune vegetation. The bare sand
can provide invertebrate habitat and may help establish suitable conditions
for the rare natterjack toad Bufo calamita;
- Supplementary feeding is required to retain the condition of the modern
breeds used during the winter. This also appears to result in the stock remaining
close to the feeding locations, causing localised damage from trampling and
eutrophication as well as under-grazing coarser vegetation elsewhere on the
site;
- The restrictions imposed since Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) mean
that the farmer is reluctant to graze cattle on the lower value herbage as
they can fail to reach slaughter weight within the 30 months imposed by government
rules;
- The Herdwick sheep used on the site are hardy and can eat coarse vegetation,
including some scrub. By contrast the Swaledales are less able to cope with
this type of vegetation preferring shorter more palatable grasses;
- Fluctuating rabbit populations make determining stocking levels difficult.
Derived from studies at Sandscale Haws (Burton
2001).
| Guidance: Despite these caveats the use of grazing animals for
nature conservation purposes on sand dunes and other coastal habitats is
a key tool for management and restoration. The effects of different grazing
regimes (including the breed of animal) can have very different outcomes.
The National
Trust have reviewed some of these differences, mainly in the
context of grazing sea cliff vegetation. Some of the lessons may be applicable
to sand dunes. |
References
Burton, P.
2001.
Grazing as a mangement tool and the constraints of the agricultural system: a case study of grazing on Sandscale Haws nature reserve, Cumbria, northwest England.
In: Coastal Dune Management: Shared Experience of European Conservation Practice, eds.Houston, J.A., Edmondson, S.E. & Rooney, P.J.Liverpool University Press, 80-85.
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