Grazing on Kingsdale Head
The reason we are here at Kingsdale Head is because of a shared passion for Wildlife, it’s conservation and recovery. Essentially, we want to make the most of the farm’s potential for biodiversity. That is having the range of native species naturally possible in this landscape and highlighting all of the benefits that come with that.
Within the boundaries of our farm at Kingsdale Head the biodiversity we can eventually support is limited by three main things.
1. The amount of space we have ; simply the more space there is the more species we may be able to support.
2. The range of species able to survive; we can have all of the space we need but the range of species we could have here need to find the right habitat and conditions to survive.
3. The ability of new species to arrive at Kingsdale Head; whilst it is an amazing landscape Kingsdale Head doesn’t at the moment support the full range of species and habitats that an upland landscape like this could do. If we want a greater biodiversity those species have to be able to get here in the first place as well as find the opportunity to get going.
Assuming the amount of space we have is fixed, which it might not be, then our biggest opportunity to restore a greater diversity of wildlife is by influencing what is able to survive here and the range of species able to colonise.
One factor that has for a long time had a big influence on this at Kingsdale Head is grazing. We still see grazing as an important part of the management of Kingsdale Head but importantly it is the type and number of grazing animals that will influence the factors above in the coming years.
The range of species able to survive.
Plant communities are a big driver of biodiversity and until recently the major factor influencing the diversity of plants we had at Kingsdale Head has been what species have been able to survive a high density of sheep grazing.
Previously very high sheep numbers in the uplands and high grazing pressure meant that only grazing tolerant species were able to survive and eventually dominate. This had a knock on impact on the biodiversity of the uplands.
If we were to remove livestock grazing all together then we remove that pressure, and a greater number of species are able to survive on Kingsdale. That’s great but some species are well adapted to tolerate grazing and survive in open grasslands. Others are more tolerant of shade or better able to compete for space. Regardless of whether we graze a landscape heavily or not at all there will be winners and losers in terms of the species that will survive in a fairly uniform habitat. The trick is not to have uniform habitats and instead a more naturalistic approach where livestock are free to graze some areas and not others depending on, age, season, preference, weather or any number of factors maintaining a much more complex landscape full of a range of habitats and as a result a greater diversity of life.
The ability of new species to arrive at Kingsdale Head.
It’s important to remember that Kingsdale Head is not empty. Opportunities for new species to arrive at Kingsdale Head are limited if the farm is already dominated by dense vegetation. This is one reason why grazing at the right level is still important to having more biodiversity in a landscape. Grazing animals create opportunity. By removing vegetation and distributing nutrients as they eat, producing nutrient rich dung and by punching holes in the ground with their hoofs, they create opportunity for new species to arrive, create a range of habitats and facilitate the recovery of wildlife on site. Cattle even carry species with them, in their guts, their hooves or even their hair particularly with hairy breeds like our Galloway cattle. The challenge is a change in grazing pressure that balances disturbance with maintaining a range of habitat types that create the opportunity for the arrival of new diversity.
So the number of grazing animals has an impact on diversity but so does the type of grazing. We have chosen cattle at Kingsdale Head because of the way that they graze. Sheep have small mouths and lips able to crop the most palatable parts of the sward close the ground making them quite selective about what they eat and able to put more pressure on the more palatable species. Over time this can allow coarser or less palatable species to take over. They are also capable of selecting the new buds and growth from regenerating trees. Cattle on the other hand tend to tear at vegetation with large mouths less capable of being selective. By tearing at vegetation, they produce a range of vegetation heights as well as bare ground and dense tussocks. The result is a more varied swards with more niches for different species as well as new opportunities for plants to colonise.
Of course, cattle are not the only species that interact with the landscape, all species do. The more species that arrive at Kingsdale Head the more complex the interactions get and the more opportunities there are for new species to arrive like black grouse or merlin. Not to mention the more interesting and beautiful the landscape is.
Where appropriate we have also introduced species at Kingsdale Head to make the most of these new opportunities and to continue to add to the complexity and diversity of habitats. Like tree planting for example where the seed sources aren’t as readily available in the landscape and species won’t necessarily get here on their own.
Coming back to how much space we have for biodiversity in the landscape.
As more opportunities are created for species like trees and dwarf shrubs to arrive and survive. We can move from an almost two dimensional landscape to a three dimensional one. Here a new niche and more space for new species is made above and in amongst existing habitat. More space, more complexity, more biodiversity.
There are other ways to make space and increase the opportunity for species to spread and that is through the connectivity of the landscape and working together. It is great to have large sites like Kingsdale Head but wildlife recovery is difficult if species can’t travel through the landscape to colonise new places. More space and more connected spaces are required and there a lot of great things going on in the landscape around Kingsdale Head.