Threats

• drainage for agricultural production
• agricultural improvement, including reseeding the use of fertilisers and herbicides and over-grazing
• ploughing and conversion to arable
• urban and rural development
• pollution from run-off from adjacent land including eutrophication
• lowering of groundwater tables
• scrub encroachment
• inappropriate management and
• tipping

Action Plan Objectives

To maintain the existing extent of all wetlands within Taunton Deane. These wetlands include fens, carr woodland, bogs, mires, flushes, rush pasture, wet meadows and marshy grassland as well as rivers, streams and ponds.

Contribution of SERC/ Biodiversity Action Plan to implementation:

• SERC, aided by the resource assessment work in this project, has identified most of the unimproved neutral sites within the Deane, and includes them in County Wildlife Site submissions to the Borough Council for various purposes.

Further work required:
Continue survey and monitoring

The protection of the existing resource from further deterioration and destruction for example from drainage associated with developments.

Contribution of SERC/ Biodiversity Action Plan to implementation

• One such purpose (see above) is development control

Further work required:

Ensure that development control system works efficiently and policies are implemented

To maintain the extent and distribution of wet grazing levels and the internationally important numbers of wading birds and wintering wildfowl associated with the Somerset Levels and Moors.

Contribution of SERC/ Biodiversity Action Plan to implementation:

This report (the Taunton LBAP) has identified that part of the Somerset Levels and Moors within Taunton Deane as a Prime Biodiversity area, underlining the importance of this objective.

The re-creation, on appropriate sites, of wetland habitats, especially to act as links between buffer zones for existing CWS and SSSI sites, for example through:

• reintroduction of traditional management such as extensive grazing and cutting or mowing at appropriate stocking densities (preventing overgrazing)
• management of traditional water systems such as rhynes and restoration of high water tables and winter flooding on wet grazing marshes
• control of invasive species such as creeping thistle, ragwort, bracken, rushes and docks, as well as invasive scrub
• lowering the nutrient status of adjacent semi-improved or improved swards

Contribution of SERC/ Biodiversity Action Plan to implementation

• All of these management techniques are recommended, where appropriate, by Wildlife Sites Officers of the Somerset Wildlife Trust, working from SERC data, which in turn had been strengthened by resource assessment work in this project. ADAS have also made use of SERC data on mires and wet grasslands in targeting of ESA grants within the Blackdowns

Further work required:

Continue to keep site records up-to-date and make them available to field advisory officers, including Somerset Wildlife Trust Wildlife Sites team, FWAG and MAFF/ADAS.

TDBC, in association with relevant bodies, should identify all areas of former wetland, which could be reinstated.

SERC holds relevant data on this subject through its recent European Atlantic ARc Wetland Project. A project is likely to be commissioned from SERC shortly by Somerset County Council and SWT to identify priorities fro wetland restoration.

Further work required:

Support the proposed Somerset Wetlands Evaluation project and implement the top priorities in Taunton Deane, in liaison with partner organisations.

SWT Wildlife Sites team are currently identifying potential sites, based on SERC data, for recommendation to the Borough Council

Further work required:

Site by site practicalities would need field investigation and landowner liaison

Action Plan Targets

[see above]

Current Action

Proposed Action

Policy and legislation

Progress