Eblex landscapes without livestock report

Landscapes without livestock

Visualising the impacts of a potential decline in beef and sheep farming on some

of England’s most cherished landscapes

LandscapeswithoutlivestockLandscapes without Livestock• Visualisations of the changes that could

realistically occur if commercial beef and sheep farming were to decline significantly

• Shown over four time periods: Now, 2014, 2021 and 2041

• In five different landscapes:

1. Upland pastures in the North York Moors

2. Rolling farmland in the Vale of Pickering

3. Lowland farming on Romney Marsh

4. Upland hillsides on Exmoor

5. Moorland commons on Dartmoor

Landscapeswithoutlivestock

Upland pastures in the North York Moors

• Beef cattle and sheep maintain small fields of permanent pasture

divided by stone walls, hedges and woodland

2011

NOW



• Most fields receive little or no grazing• Bracken has quickly colonised many fields • New woodlands have been planted for timber and wood fuel

2014

IN 3 YEARS



• Grazing is limited to a few sheep in the valley bottoms• New woodland and the colonising bracken and scrub have created a wilder,

rougher landscape• Tourism and outdoor recreation provide new income for farmers

2021

IN 10 YEARS



• Livestock have all but disappeared from the landscape• The old pattern of historic fields and boundaries is obscured by

scrub

• Plantations for timber and wood fuel are a dominant feature• Tourism and recreation enterprises have a visible impact

2041

IN 30 YEARS



2011

2041

Extensive upland pasture

becomes …

Roughgrassland,

woodland and tourism


Rolling farmland in the Vale of Pickering

2011

NOW• Mixed farming with a rotation of arable crops and grassland leys• Permanent pasture on fields unsuitable for arable cultivation• Hedgerow trees flourish beside pasture, providing shade and shelter for

livestock



2014

IN 3 YEARS• Fields of pasture have been converted to permanent arable cropping, based

around cereal production• Hedgerows have been removed and field sizes have increased• Remaining grassland receives less grazing and has become weedier



2021

IN 10 YEARS• More fields have been converted to continuous arable cultivation, and more

hedgerows have been removed to allow efficient use of machinery• A large grain store has been erected on the skyline• A camp site now occupies a small field not suitable for cultivation



2041

IN 30 YEARS• Hedgerow trees have died or are dying back (hastened by ploughing) and

have not been replaced• The campsite has become a more permanent feature with static caravans

and roadways, catering for tourists



2011

2041

Rotational mixed farming

becomes …

Intensive arable cropping with commercial development


Lowland farming on Romney Marsh

• Grazing of permanent pasture, by the Romney breed of sheep, is the main land use

• This produces a traditional landscape with abundant biodiversity

2011

NOW



2014

• The rich soils have been drained with deep ditches and pump drainage• Arable cropping for wheat and potatoes has started to replace the pasture• Permanent pasture is retained around the church, but is grazed by ponies

IN 3 YEARS


• Intensive arable cropping continues• Ponies no longer graze the grassland around the church. Rough vegetation

and scrub has encroached on all the uncropped areas• On the horizon a vegetable pack house and cold store has been erected


2021

IN 10 YEARS



• The area of arable cropping has increased, taking in most of the

grassland close to the church

• Scrub has encroached further around the church• The vegetable pack houses on the horizon have been extended

IN 30 YEARS



2011

2041

Lowland wet grassland

becomes …

Drained and intensively cropped arable land


Upland hillsides on Exmoor

2011

NOW• A pastoral and well‐wooded landscape, with beef cattle the predominant

grazing animals


2014


IN 3 YEARS• With beef farming no longer profitable, the farm has changed hands and the

new owner now runs the farm as a part‐time ‘hobby farm’• Game crops have been established to support a pheasant shoot• New landowners are introducing new land uses, including a wind turbine



2021

IN 10 YEARS• With the farm now run as a smallholding, pigs and poultry and a polytunnel

have added to the diversity of land uses• Management of the pasture, hedgerows and woodland is more relaxed

giving the landscape a rougher look



IN 30 YEARS• The impact of hobby farming land uses has increased• Woodland cover has increased for timber and energy use• Rows of solar panels have been erected in some fields as ‘solar farms’• Overall, the landscape has become busier and more complex



2011

2041

Extensive beef farming

becomes …

Hobby farming with increased diversity of land uses


Moorland commons

on Dartmoor

2011

• Historic systems of common grazing sustain internationally important upland moorland habitats

NOW


2014

Moorland commons on Dartmoor

• Numbers of hardy breeds of sheep and cattle decline• Lack of grazing leads to rank growth of purple moor grass • Gorse and self‐sown conifers encroach on open moorland

IN 3 YEARS



2021

• The thick mat of ungrazed grass smothers heathland plants like heather• The stone wall has been restored with grant aid but is obscured by tall

grasses • Self‐sown conifers start to become significant features in the landscape

IN 10 YEARS



• The long dry grass has become a fire hazard, susceptible to uncontrolled wild fires

• The self‐sown trees and shrubs have grown taller and more prominent• Having lost its original function, the stone wall has started to

collapse

IN 30 YEARS



2011

2041

Open grass and heather

moorland

becomes …

Rank grassland and scrub at risk of wild fires


1

Summary of changes

2

3

5

4


2

1

Trajectories of change

Landscape diversity

Intensity of land

use

Low diversity High diversity

Low intensity

High intensity

5

43

Showing how the predicted changes have affected the intensity of land use and the diversity of the landscape

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Eblex landscapes without livestock report