Conservation. Although there has has been a decline in extent and loss of important local sites in Barnsley, there are still opportunities to protect and conserve this habitat.

Factors causing loss or decline

• Previously developed sites with high biodiversity continue to be at risk of being lost due to government policies to encourage redevelopment of brown field sites in preference to green field sites and lack of awareness of their value.
• They are also at risk from landfill or reclamation of mineral spoil.
• Too much tidying up of a site can damage its ecological interest as can inappropriate ‘restoration’ to other habitat types.
• Natural succession will also cause loss and damage to the habitat and species supported by the open mosaic habitat.

Legal protection

Open Mosaic Habitat on Previously Developed Land (OMH) does not necessarily have legal protection .

OMH is however listed under Section 41 of the NERC Act as a habitat of prinicipal importance for conservation. As a result public bodies have to take it into consideration when managing their estate and making decisions.

An OMH site may be designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Local Nature Reserve, Local Wildlife Site or another local or national designation.

It is also important to note that an OMH site may also be indirectly protected where it provides a habitat for a legally protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (the Act), or the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010.

Links for advice and information

Buglife:

Open Mosaic Habitat Inventory

This includes an Open Habitat Mosaic Handbook, Assessment form and other information.

How to manage brownfields

This includes separate advice on management for butterflies, ground beetles, flies and bumblebees.

An OMH survey website is available.  

Natural England: mosaic approach

Bumblebee Conserv Trust: advice

Positive Conservation Management

Although an absence of management is often a key factor in the high biodiversity in brownfield sites, management will be necessary at some point to maintain the early successional habitats required.

Without management sites will in time be overgrown by dense scrub and secondary woodland. The aim should be to maintain open, sheltered and sunny areas, with a mosaic of herb-rich early succession habitat and bare ground. This involves:

• Monitoring and maintenance of early successional stages
• Maintaining some bare ground by clearing areas every few years in rotation
• Only working on sections of a site in a single year; avoiding site-wide treatments
• Encouraging early successional vegetation, larval food plants and nectar-rich wildflower-rich areas.
• Considering addition of appropriate substrate materials to enhance floral resource and provide refuges for invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians
• Managing grassy areas to retain a varied structure with stands of taller plants where invertebrates can overwinter and birds can feed.
• Clearing scrub, brambles, bracken and nettles to help maintain open habitats. [However some of these should be retained as they are valuable in their own right.]

 Previously Developed Land