Salisbury Plain
This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2009) |
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in southern England covering 300 square miles (780 km2).[1] It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, but stretches into Hampshire.
The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known landmarks. Large areas are given over to military training; thus, the sparsely populated plain is the biggest remaining area of calcareous grassland in northwest Europe. Additionally, the plain has arable land, and a few small areas of beech trees and coniferous woodland. Its highest point is Easton Hill.
Physical geography
The boundaries of Salisbury Plain have never been truly defined, and there is some difference of opinion as to its exact area.
History
Salisbury Plain is famous for its history and
Around 600 BC,
In the 6th century, Anglo-Saxon incomers built planned settlements in the valleys surrounded by strip lynchets, with the downland left as sheep pasture. To the south is the city of Salisbury, whose medieval cathedral is famous for having the tallest spire in the country, and the building was, for many centuries, the tallest building in Britain. The cathedral is evidence of the prosperity the wool and cloth trade brought to the area. In the mid-19th century the wool and cloth industry began to decline, leading to a decline in the population and change in land use from sheep farming to agriculture and military use. Wiltshire became one of the poorest counties in England during this period of decline.
There are a number of chalk carvings on the plain, of which the most famous is the Westbury White Horse. The Kennet and Avon Canal was constructed to the north of the plain, through the Vale of Pewsey.
In September 1896,[4] George Kemp and Guglielmo Marconi experimented with wireless telegraphy on Salisbury Plain, and achieved good results over a distance of 1.25 miles (2.0 km).[5]
Military use
The largest camps and barracks are at
The Royal School of Artillery has been based at Larkhill since 1915, and live firing is conducted on the plain for approximately 340 days of each year. In the early 2000s, military personnel from the UK and around the world spent some 600,000-man days on the plain every year.[8]
In 1943, the village of Imber was evacuated to allow training for Operation Overlord to be conducted. The village, in an isolated position within the plain, has remained closed except for an annual church service and some bank holidays. Roads in the Imber area are also closed, as they lie within the Imber Range live firing area; it is possible to walk all 30 miles (48 km) of the perimeter of the range on public footpaths.[6]
The training area is close to other military facilities including the
20,000 hectares are designated
Ecology
Because of the large training areas inaccessible to the public, the plain is a wildlife haven, and home to two
Vegetation
A diversity of soil types, slope, aspect and past and present land-use has given rise to various grassland communities. Historical evidence suggests that large areas of grassland are of great antiquity, and areas which were cultivated at the beginning of the 20th century have experienced nearly 100 years of chalk grassland re-colonisation. Parts of East Salisbury Plain and the periphery of Central and West comprise areas of grassland currently managed for grazing pasture and hay-cutting, whilst the middle of Centre and West are ungrazed. A large proportion of Salisbury Plain supports upright brome (Bromus erectus) species-rich grassland, within which a continuous floristic variation is seen. A widespread type on the plain is characterised by an abundance of red fescue (Festuca rubra), crested hair-grass (Koeleria macrantha), salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor), lady's bedstraw (Galium verum), rough hawkbit (Leontodon hispidus), common rock-rose (Helianthemum nummularium) and dropwort (Filipendula vulgaris). The high constancy of this last species is a distinctive feature of the upright brome grasslands on Salisbury Plain and is otherwise only known from one other site in Hampshire. Where upright brome is less dominating, plants such as small scabiosa (Scabiosa columbaria), clustered bellflower (Campanula glomerata), dyer's greenweed (Genista tinctoria), kidney vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria), sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) and horseshoe vetch (Hippocrepis comosa) are characteristic associates.[3]
The rare and notable plants which occur here include
On anthills, and in the more disturbed turf that is especially a feature of the impact area,
Small areas of chalk-heath vegetation occur on superficial clay-with-flints deposits. Here chalk-loving plants such as
Salisbury Plain supports a diverse bryophyte flora with seven nationally scarce species which have seen a general decline in other chalk grassland sites, including Barbula acuta, Phascum curvicolle, Pleurochaete squarrosa, Thuidium abietinum and Weissia sterilis.[3]
Although there is some scrub development on the plain, it is remarkable that large expanses of the chalk grassland remain open with very little invasion of woody species. Of particular interest are the large stands of juniper (Juniperus communis) on Bulford Downs and Beacon Hill. Both pyramidal and prostrate forms are present and this site, along with Porton Down SSSI to the south, supports the best remaining examples of the lowland type of juniper associated with chalk and mixed scrub in England.[3]
Insects
The botanically and structurally diverse grasslands support a large range of rare and uncommon chalk downland invertebrates. Where abundance has been assessed strong populations of national and local importance are present, and the large area of habitat available to them is important in ensuring their survival.[3]
Butterflies
The plain is an important stronghold for declining downland butterflies. A high concentration of colonies of three nationally scarce species, the Adonis blue (Polyommatus bellargus), Duke of Burgundy (Hamearis lucina), and the largest population of marsh fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia) on the chalk, occur. A colony of brown hairstreak (Thecla betulae) is present on East Salisbury Plain at one of its two Wiltshire localities. Strong populations of other downland species such as chalkhill blue (Polyommatus coridon) and dark green fritillary (Argynnis aglaja) are found, and of note here is the occurrence of grayling (Hipparchia semele), a butterfly rarely found away from the coast.[3]
Moths
An outstanding assemblage of two rare (RDB), 36 nationally scarce and two regionally notable moths are present, most of which are either chalk grassland specialists or are partly dependent on chalk grassland. The RDB species scarce forester (Adscita globulariae) is present, and amongst many species of nationally scarce moths are the cistus forester (Adscita geryon), six-belted clearwing (Bembecia scopigera), oblique striped (Phibalapteryx virgata), pimpernel pug (Eupithecia pimpinellata), shaded pug (Eupithecia subumbrata) and narrow-bordered bee hawk moth (Hemaris tityus). Larvae of these moths feed on the chalk grassland plants which are widespread on the plain. Other nationally scarce moths such as orange-tailed clearwing (Synanthedon anthraciniformis) depend on the associated scrub habitats.[3]
Bees
The bee fauna is particularly rich in species which depend on chalk grassland. One of only two British populations of the endangered (RDB)
Flies
The
Crustaceans
Recent observations have shown that Salisbury Plain is an important site for the RDB crustacean, the
Others
Other nationally scarce invertebrates occur within the
Birds
The area as a whole is of national and international importance for breeding and wintering birds. It supports seven species listed on Annex 1 of the EC Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, populations of six species of Red Data bird and several species of candidate Red Data bird. Amongst the breeding birds three species are particularly noteworthy. Up to 20 pairs of stone-curlew representing 12% of the British population breed on the plain. The area accounts for approximately 20% of breeding records for quail in Britain each year, and numbers of breeding hobby are thought to exceed 1% of the British population on a regular basis. Other important breeding species include common buzzard, barn owl, long-eared owl, nightingale, stonechat, whinchat, wheatear, corn bunting and, on occasion, Montagu's harrier.[3]
The overall breeding assemblage is exceptionally diverse for a British dry grassland site. In winter the plain is an important area for foraging flocks of thrushes, finches and buntings. These, together with abundant small mammals are prey for wintering hen harrier, merlin and short-eared owl. Hen harriers occur in nationally significant numbers each winter, and the plain is an important winter roost for this species in southern England.[3] In 2003 the great bustard was reintroduced into Britain on Salisbury Plain.[11]
Snakes and amphibians
Other species of interest on Salisbury Plain include the
See also
References
- ^ "Salisbury Plain", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 February 2006.
- ^ James, N. D. G. (1987) Plain Soldiering. Hobnob Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Natural England Salisbury Plain SSSI citation
- ^ y R. W. Simons. Guglielmo Marconi and Early Systems of Wireless Communication. GEC Review, Vol. 11, No. 1, 1996. – pp. 37–55. [1]
- ^ Sevenoaks and Westerham Chronicle and Kentish Advertiser. – 25 September 1896, page 2.
- ^ Defence Estates. 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "A Better Defence Estate" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. November 2016. p. 17. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- ^ "ATE Salisbury Plain (leaflet)". British Army. Archived from the original on 31 July 2003 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "The Defence Training Estate – Detailed guidance". Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom. 12 December 2012. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ^ "Forces radio stations merge". Salisbury Journal. 12 June 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- ^ James Owen, 2003. "Tall As a Deer, Huge U.K. Bird Staging a Comeback Archived 16 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine." National Geographic 6 May 2003.
External links
- Salisbury Plain – Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)
- The Countryside Agency: Salisbury Plain and West Wiltshire Downs AONB, archived in March 2008
- Salisbury Plain LIFE Project, European Commission, 2001–2005
- Public access to military areas – GOV.UK, updated November 2021
- HQ Salisbury Plain Training Area on Twitter