Conservation & Ecology
“A staggering 60% of all our wildlife is now in decline, with 34% showing a strong decline. Some species are considered to be critically endangered”
Once a common sight across much of the UK, this Small
Copper is now in steep decline.
species have decreased in the last decade
Overall, 72% of the UK's butterfly
Sustainability is becoming more comprehensively integrated into all golf course operations. Here strips of rough are being removed to promote heather regeneration in an out-of-play area which will enhance the habitat and contribute to sustainability
The affects of climate change are clear at Amendoeira GC in Portugal during spring 2012, after a winter without rain
fifteen years ago, and has gradually spread northward reaching as far as Lancashire at the present time. The Great Egret and Little Bittern followed, first nesting here in 2012 and 2013 respectively. 2013 also witnessed a remarkable invasion of another Mediterranean species - the Glossy Ibis. This species is predicted to follow suit and colonise within the near future, and last year’s invasion may be just the precursor to that happening. Four of these birds also graced Old Links Golf Course a few weeks ago and lingered long enough for the local press and television to cover the story. Conversely, and at the time of writing, a Snowy Owl - normally to be found within the Arctic Circle - has been reported at Felixstowe Golf Club, demonstrating the possibility that extreme weather can also displace more northerly species. The need of land to provide food for an ever increasing human population has also put tremendous strain on the rural landscape, especially here in the UK. This is another example of a major impact upon our environment and modern agriculture has been cited as being largely to blame. Traditional farming practices during the 19th Century had a relatively minimal impact right up until the 1940s when a major technical revolution within agriculture altered the rural landscape dramatically. The spread of mechanisation is one of the main factors that contributed to this revolution and, as a result, the land has been intensively farmed for over half a century.
Agricultural intensification has many
The golf industry plays an important role in preserving large portions of the environment as shown by this picture of Turton Golf Club
108 PC DECEMBER/JANUARY 2014
environmental implications and there is no doubt that modern farming practices conducted during the post-war period have transformed the rural environment. The first change that aroused concern was the appearance of large industrialised farm buildings in the 1950s. The loss of important habitats such as moorland, heathland, thousands of miles of hedgerows and the drainage of wetlands all followed, contributing to this transformation of the countryside. The drastic decline of our precious habitats was only acted upon in 1984 when the Nature Conservancy Council published
the results of a survey that revealed that our landscape had changed radically as modern farming methods changed. The report documented that the nation had lost 95% of its lowland herb-rich grassland, 80% of its chalk and limestone grassland, 60% of its lowland heaths, 45% of its limestone pavements, 50% of its ancient woodland, 50% of its lowland fells and marshes, over 60% of its lowland raised bogs, and a third of all upland grassland, heaths and mires. Movements were eventually made to help halt the damage being done to the rural environment and, during 1984, the Common Agricultural Policy was finally modified to alleviate the effect. The creation of environmentally sensitive areas and agri-environmental schemes within these areas were tools for tackling such problems. Some agri-environmental schemes, known as set-aside, are still available to farmers today and, together with other conservation measures in other sectors of the economy, habitat destruction has somewhat slowed. However, pressures from new housing and development continue to destroy valuable habitats and their statistics continue to fall up to this day!
Here, I have highlighted the valuable habitat lowland heathland, in particular, as it is readily found on many golf courses throughout the country, and many greenkeepers actively take measures to conserve it.
Lowland heathland is now a national priority for nature conservation as it is a rare and threatened habitat. About 20% of the global extent of this habitat occurs in the UK which makes it an internationally important habitat. In England, only 16% of the lowland heathland present in 1800 now remains, whilst 56% of the lowland heath present before 1940 has now been destroyed.
It has been lost due to a number of factors, not just agricultural improvement, and includes forestry plantations, development, mineral extraction, over- grazing, natural vegetative succession to woodland and encroachment of invasive species such as rhododendron and bracken. Habitat fragmentation also makes
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