Grazing (loss of rare plants and invertebrates)

Grazing of domestic stock is a relatively restricted activity even on the larger shingle sites. The sparseness of the vegetation and limited growth rates combine to make the available herbage limited and unpalatable. Hares may frequent these areas and are especially plentiful on Orfordness. Only in Scotland where sheep and cattle from adjacent areas can have access to beaches are they likely to have adverse effects - in this case the loss of Mertensia maritima.

Caption: Cattle grazing Mertensia maritima Treshnish beach Isle of Mull a possible cause of extinction at some sites.

At Rhunahaorine Point, western Scotland heavy grazing of much of the foreland by cattle and sheep with relatively high stocking levels has reduced the area of heath. This is not only because of the direct effect of grazing on the vegetation but also the indirect effect of the fertilisation it supplies to an otherwise nutrient-poor environment. Rhunahaorine also has a fish farm on the more northerly part of the foreland. Grazing pressures can also reduce structure and diversity of the vegetation and with it losses of invertebrate fauna.