PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
A decline in the quality of sand dune habitats in Europe is due to a range of historic and current drivers of change including nutrient enrichment, water availability, invasive alien species, accelerated successional change, and past and current management. It is thought that the UK’s dune area has been reduced to 30 % of that present in 1900, and in England the losses are closer to 50 %. Natural England manages nine National Nature Reserves (covering 954 ha) that have sand dune habitats of European importance. The project takes place across eight Natura 2000 network sites (SACs), which contain a total of 3 412 ha of all seven Habitats Directive Annex 1 sand dune habitat types present in England. The latest UK Article 17 report on the implementation of the Directive states that these habitats are in an overall ‘unfavourable-bad’ conservation status and that this has reached a critical point. The approaches outlined in the IPENS (LIFE11 NAT/UK/000384) project provide a basis for future work.
OBJECTIVES
The DuneLIFE project aims to improve the conservation status of habitats and species in eight coastal Natura 2000 network sites in England.
Key objectives are to:
Enhance the restoration of eight sand dune and associated wetland Annex I habitats and four Annex II species of the Habitats Directive, including the restoration of natural sand dune dynamics and freshwater systems to improve over 4 400 ha of the sites toward a 'favourable' conservation status; Implement sustainable grazing, nitrogen action plans, and better long-term management; Improve the resilience of the sand dune ecosystem, habitats and species to climate change, impacts of water availability and nutrient enrichment; Demonstrate best practices that integrate habitat restoration with visitor/recreational management to site managers, volunteers and policymakers at key sites in Europe; and Inspire and promote a better understanding and awareness of the value and function of dynamic dune systems, to maximise the replicability of the project solutions across the EU. The project implements the Habitats Directive, helps deliver the Prioritised Action Framework for Natura 2000 (PAF), and contributes to the EU Biodiversity Strategy (Targets 1, 2 and 5). It also supports the Bern Convention and the European Strategy for the Conservation of Plants.
Expected results:
Concrete conservation actions lead to over 4 400 ha of eight Natura 2000 sites (SACs) moving toward or retaining 'favourable' conservation status; Creation of 74 ha of bare sand, the restoration of 72 ha of wetland habitats, and improved water quality on 22 ha of ‘Oligotrophic waters…’ habitat; Removal of invasive alien species across 470 ha; New grazing regimes instigated on 337 ha, with potential to extend by 200 ha; Volunteer accommodation and key small-scale access infrastructure put in place; Site improvement plans for the eight Natura 2000 sites, and standard data forms (SDFs) reviewed and updated as necessary; Production of a monitoring plan, a report based on an analysis of surveys before-and-after project actions, and a report compiling the project indicators; Reports on socio-economic impacts and ecosystem services; Two pilot Shared Nitrogen Action Plans (SNAPs) produced; and New positive messages about dune dynamism developed and widely communicated to the public and land managers.
