Woodlands and scrub: facts and figures

Habitats in woodland and scrub areas of the Yorkshire Dales National Park

The table below lists the broad woodland habitat types in the Yorkshire Dales National Park with the total area of the National Park each type covers and the importance of each one in terms of biodiversity.

An expanded version of this table can be downloaded in the Document downloads box.

National and International biodiversity importance

The following table (downloadable in the Document downloads box) lists the national and international importance of woodland habitats in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

National importance is simply defined as those habitats that have, or will have, Habitat Action Plans in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (Anon, 1995). International importance is defined as those habitats listed in Annex I of the European Habitats & Species Directive 92/43/EEC which sets out those habitats in need of conservation and protection in the European Community area.

The table shows that the upland hay meadows of the of the Yorkshire Dales National Park are of international importance. Most of the other habitats apart from arable land and improved grassland are of national biodiversity importance.

Current issues, opportunities and threats to woodland biodiversity

Woodland habitats in the dales of the National Park have declined as a result of a combination of neglect, inappropriate management and grazing pressure from livestock and rabbits. This decline is being reversed through the use of incentives to landowners such as the Woodland Grant Scheme administered by the Forestry Commission and grants from the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust.

Increased use of the countryside for recreation can be ecologically damaging due footpath erosion, trampling and the physical damage caused by large numbers of people together with disturbance to wildlife particularly during the breeding season. There are, however, considerable benefits in enabling managed access to the countryside for the full cross-section of the human community as it provides an opportunity to educate and raise awareness of biodiversity and countryside issues. Conserving biodiversity is very dependent on the support of a well-informed human community with a sense of belonging and a genuine involvement in the process. Woodlands are often very robust habitats that can withstand high levels of recreational use therefore providing an opportunity to combine biodiversity education with conservation.