Military use of shingle sites

Most shingle structures are not big enough to accommodate extensive military use, the exceptions are Dungeness (Annex 05), Orfordness (Annex 06) and to a lesser extent Browndown (see below).

In at least one part of Dungeness, the undulating nature of the ridges was considered an obstacle to military training. These were flattened and any vegetation destroyed. The presence of a 'holly wood' was respected and individual bushes now survive on a flat shingle plain (see picture below).

Caption: The 'holly wood', Dungeness, Kent. Note the bare, flat nature of the intervening shingle (and the 'wind-pruning' of the holly bushes).

At Orfordness military activity has destroyed, or seriously disturbed a major part of the site (see site issues report).

The Training Camp at Browndown has also witnessed significant damage to the shingle vegetation, but sympathetic management by the MOD in conjunction with the Browndown Conservation Group has resulted in a more careful policy being adopted (Randall et al. 1996). The fragile lichen communities are readily damaged by military use and recovery can be very slow an important consideration.

References

Randall, R.E., Sneddon, P. & Aitcheson, J. 1996. Plant communities of Browndown South Training Area. Sanctuary, 25., 29-30.