Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2008 | Página 60
life
COUNTRYSIDE, WILDLIFE & FARMING
By Tony Ridd - [email protected]
Changing face of the
countryside
Our countryside has been
moulded over thousands of
years because of the way
landowners have farmed
and managed it, and with
this our wildlife has adapted
and prospered. This has
always been for profit. So
what happens when it is not
viable to farm a piece of
land? Will it revert back to
woodland or scrub and what
60
will happen to the various
habitats that the wildlife
have come to depend on?
Most of our wildlife are
pretty flexible, there are some
however that require certain
conditions to survive. The
reddish buff moth’s sole larval
food plant is saw-wort. It’s
preferred breeding habit is
open grassy/heathy swards not
too acidic nor too alkaline.
With the sward height being
5-15cm. The moth has been
lost to the UK mainland
since the 1930’s with a further
known four sites being lost
during the 80’s or before on
the Isle of Wight. Now only
a single native population
remains in the West Wight.
The National Trust were
the first and probably best
known land owning charity
in our country, but there
are now many like it, some
specialising in certain fields
with others being local. Our
‘Wildlife Trust’ was set up
in the sixties and covers the
whole of the two counties.
They now have six reserves
on the island evenly split
between woodland and open
ground. A dedicated reserve
manager recruits volunteers
Island Life - www.isleofwight.net