Land use in Wales
The ways in which land is used in Wales reflect conditions of climate, geology and topography, modified by long traditions of land management. Sheep-grazed pasture predominates in all of the lowland zone, with arable fields mainly confined to the east of the country, although specialised
Farming and forestry account for nearly all of the land surface, but there are other land-uses that overlap with this. For example, 20% of Wales is designated as National Parks.
Although wind farms put some constraints on farming and forestry, they are not incompatible with these land uses.
The most recent figures for proportions of agricultural land are from 2011,[3] and for forest and woodland from 2015.[4]
These figures show that nearly 50% of the land area was under permanent grass. Arable land occupied about 9% of the area, and rough grazing some 20%, with woodlands on farms accounting for more than 3%. Broadleaved (deciduous) woodland covered 5.5% and coniferous woodland (mainly forestry plantations) 6%. Natural Resources Wales' report on Woodlands for Wales indicators,[5] currently (February 2018) states that the area of woodland in Wales is now 306,000 ha, comprising 156,000 ha of broadleaves, and 150,000 ha of conifers. Thus, since the 2015 statistics quoted above, broadleaved woodland has overtaken coniferous forests in its coverage of Wales. Other woodland types such as cleared and recently planted land covered a further 2% of the land.
The remaining 4.5% of the land is under urban and industrial land-uses, including a significant proportion of land spoiled by industrial wastes, like coal and slate tips.
The proportions of land covered by urban and industrial uses vary hugely from region to region, with areas of south-east Wales in particular being heavily urbanised. For example, Blaenau Gwent in the industrial part of south Wales is 20% built up, whilst Powys in mid-Wales is less than 1% built up.[6]
Grassland
Grasslands are defined by the Encyclopedia of Ecology and Environmental Management [7] as areas "dominated by herbaceous species in which grasses or sedges are abundant, accompanied by forbs [herbs which are not grasses or sedges] .... with sometimes scattered shrubs and trees."
Ley, or improved grasslands are periodically ploughed and re-seeded with cultivated varieties of grasses, sometimes combined with clover, which are deemed suitable for the extant soil and climatic conditions.
The moist Atlantic climate of lowland Wales is ideal for grass growth,[8] and this is why so much of the land is given over to the production of grass to feed livestock. Some parts, like the Vale of Tywi, are particularly famed for the production of high quality grass, and consequently, high quality stock – beef and dairy cattle in the case quoted.
Land used for
"The composition of lowland grasslands in Wales, as in many other parts of western Europe, was transformed during the twentieth century. Over the period between 1950 and 1980 especially, farmers were encouraged and supported to undertake grassland improvement by ploughing, reseeding, fertiliser application and, where considered necessary, drainage." During the period between 1930 and 1990, some 97% of the drier types of semi-natural grasslands were lost, converted to improved grasslands which are far more productive, but contain far fewer species.[9]
Rough grazing land is included under rough grazing in the statistics above, and comprises a range of semi-natural vegetation types that are generally not cultivated or fertilised. There are large swathes of land dominated by purple moor-grass (Molinia caerulea). This coarse and tussocky grass has low value for grazing, and thrives on wet, usually peaty soils in the uplands. It tends to be maintained by light grazing (usually by sheep), which inhibits the growth of trees and dwarf-shrubs like heather and bilberry, and promotes a species-poor plant community. Where grazing is reduced, boggy forms of heather moorland occur. The wettest of these vegetation types are termed mires,[10] although most people would refer to them as bogs. Drier forms of vegetation dominated by ling (Calluna vulgaris) and heathers (Erica species) often with bilberry and a variety of other specialised herbs and shrubs are termed heaths. These once covered large areas of upland Wales, but are now somewhat fragmented,[10] predominating on markedly acidic, shallow soils. Heathlands also occur to a lesser extent in lowland situations, often in association with gorse (on shallower acidic soils) and bracken (on deeper acidic soils). Coastal heathlands occur where cliff areas are fenced off from grazing stock, and wind exposure severely restricts tree growth. Calluna heaths have become a rarity in Europe, and are the subject of conservation efforts, aimed at maintaining their specialised biodiversity.[11]
Woodland and forestry
Woodland is defined by Chambers English dictionary as "land covered with wood" i.e. dominated by tree species. Forestry is defined as "1. the science and art of planting, tending and managing forests; 2. Forest country". This implies that forests have been planted by mankind for a variety of purposes, but mostly for exploitation for timber and pulp for the paper industry. The majority of Forests in Wales were planted by the British Forestry Commission, a UK government agency. Since 2016 the Forestry Commission in Wales has been taken over by Natural Resources Wales (NRW).
NRW publishes an annual report called "Woodlands for Wales indicators",[5] which currently (February 2018) states that the area of woodland in Wales is now 306000 ha., comprising 156000 ha. of broadleaves, and 150000 ha of conifers. Thus, since the 2015 statistics quoted above, broadleaved woodland has overtaken coniferous forests in its coverage of Wales.
The NRW provides a useful map of Welsh woodlands in its publication "Welsh woodlands – their extent, nature and character".[12] Most of the former Forestry Commission coniferous plantations are in the uplands at altitudes between 200 and 500 m. The highest mountains are beyond the tree-line, which is relatively low in Wales due to low summer temperatures, peaty soils and high wind speeds at altitudes above about 500 m. In recent years there has been some interest and research in the growing of fast-producing woodland crops like willow for biomass for energy production. As the Wales Energy Crops Information Centre[13] points out, this process, using three-year rotations, is more akin to arable cropping than to forestry.
Arable land
In 2014 the rough breakdown of crops in Wales was: horticulture 60%, potatoes 20% and cereals 20%. Today (2018) there are small areas of specialist crops like oilseed rape (5080 ha in 2016[15]) and linseed.
There are several vineyards in Wales, especially between the Vale of Glamorgan and Monmouth.
References
- ^ "Wales' national parks". www.wales.com. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
- ^ "Research: Strategic Search Area (SSA) Reassessment and Validation" (PDF).
- ^ "Llywodraeth Cymru". Welsh Government. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
- ^ GB, Forestry Commission. "Forestry Commission – Statistics – Forestry Statistics". www.forestry.gov.uk. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
- ^ a b "Llywodraeth Cymru | Welsh Government". www.gov.wales. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
- ^ Easton, Mark (9 November 2017). "How much of your area is built on?". BBC News. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
- ISBN 0 632 05546 4.
- ^ "Hybu Cig Cymru – Home". hccmpw.org.uk. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
- )
- ^ ISBN 0-521-39165-2.
- )
- ^ Natural Resources Wales (September 2010). "Welsh woodlands – their extent, nature and character" (PDF).
- ^ "Wales Energy Crops Information Centre". energycropswales.bangor.ac.uk. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
- ^ Armstrong, Edward (September 2016). "The Farming Sector in Wales" (PDF).
- ^ "Agricultural area used for oil seed rape in Wales from 2000 to 2016".