Wicken Fen
Notification 1983[1] | | |
Location map | Magic Map |
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Designations | |
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Official name | Wicken Fen |
Designated | 12 September 1995 |
Reference no. | 752[2] |
Wicken Fen is a 254.5-hectare (629-acre) biological
A large part of it is owned and managed by the National Trust.[9]
It is one of Britain's oldest nature reserves, and was the first reserve cared for by the National Trust, starting in 1899.
Reserve
Management
Humans have managed Wicken Fen for centuries, and the reserve is still managed intensively to protect and maintain the delicate balance of species that has built up over the years.
Much of the management tries to recreate the old systems of fen working that persisted for hundreds of years, allowing species to become dependent on the practices. For example, the sedge plant, Cladium mariscus, is harvested every year and sold for thatching roofs. The earliest recorded sedge harvest at Wicken was in 1414,[12] and ever since then, sedge has been regularly cut. The sedge-cutting has resulted in an array of animals, fungi, and plants colonizing the area that depend on regular clearance of the sedge in order to survive.[13] (Many animals, plants and fungi are dependent upon such regular management of vegetation to keep their habitats intact.[13]) As part of the management plan for Wicken Fen, Konik ponies and Highland cattle have been introduced to some areas for grazing, in order to prevent scrub from regrowing.
Windpump
Wicken Fen features the last surviving wooden
In a reversal of its original function, it now raises water from the drainage channel, through a height of 4 feet (1.2 m), to maintain the level in the reed beds.[14][15]
Science
The Fen has been long associated with natural history.
Facilities
The Fen is open to the public. The site is open all year round from dawn to dusk except for
There are also a visitor centre, shop, and
Development of the reserve
On 1 May 1899, the National Trust purchased two acres (8094 m2) for £10, and by 2016 the reserve site had more than 800 acres.[19]
The ecology of the Fen was studied in the first decade of the 1900s by Richard Henry Yapp.[20]
The Wicken Fen Vision
The Wicken Fen Vision is a project of the National Trust; its plan over a 100-year period is to expand the protected fen area to a size of 56 km2 (22 sq mi). It was launched in 1999 to mark the 100th anniversary of the first acquisition. In 2001 a major acquisition was made with the purchase of Burwell Fen Farm (1.65 km2). In 2005, a 100 ha turf farm, to be called Tubney Fen, was purchased. Other purchases include Hurdle Hall Farm and Oily Hall Farm in 2009, and St Edmunds Fen in 2011.[21] The National Trust aims to acquire further land as it becomes available, paying market prices.[22] As a result of the increased area of wetlands, the populations of skylarks, snipe, grey partridge, widgeon and teal have all increased, with a major increase in barn owls and short-eared owls. Buzzards, hen and marsh-harriers have returned, and bitterns began breeding here by 2009 for the first time since the 1930s.[23]
The Wicken Fen Vision has great support from many people and organisations. Large sums of money have been raised from grant-awarding bodies, and from individual donors. Enlargement of the reserve has faced criticism from some residents of nearby settlements. An on-line petition entitled 'SaveOurFens' stated "We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Stop the National Trust flooding or junglefying our Cambridgeshire Fens!". Concerns centred on the issues of loss of agricultural land and increases in levels of local traffic and mosquito populations. A petition named 'wickenfenvision', in favour of the scheme, was also held. The two petitions ended in 2010, with a two to one vote in favour of the Wicken Fen Vision.[24]
Lodes Way
As part of the Vision project, the National Trust, in conjunction with Sustrans, opened a sustainable transport route connecting Wicken Fen with Anglesey Abbey and Bottisham. Work on the paths and bridges began in 2008 and was scheduled for completion in 2011.[25] The new walking, cycle and horse riding route is 9 miles (14 km) long, and includes a number of minor roads as well as new paths and bridges to link the gap in the existing Sustrans National Cycle Route 11 between Cambridge and Ely. The project, originally called the Wicken Fen Spine Route, includes the construction of a series of new bridges over the man-made waterways known as Lodes. In July 2008, the new Swaffham Bulbeck Lode bridge and a half-mile cycle and bridleway path across White Fen were opened. Upgrades to the crossing of the River Cam at Bottisham Lock and the bridge over Burwell Lode are planned. A new bridge over Reach Lode was opened in September 2010 and an upgraded cycle way across Burwell Fen is nearly complete.[26] The total cost of the scheme is £2 million, £600,000 of which are from Sustrans's Connect2 scheme.[27]
Habitats
Wicken Fen is divided by a man-made watercourse called "
The area south of the Lode is called "Adventurers' Fen" and consists of rough pasture (grading from dry to wet grassland), reedbed and pools.
The dykes, abandoned clay pits and other watercourses carry a great wealth of aquatic plants and insects, many of which are uncommon elsewhere.
Biodiversity
Naturalists were originally drawn to Wicken because of its species richness and the presence of rarities. The Fen has received a great deal of recording effort and as a result, huge species lists have accumulated. Surveys continue to the present day. In 1998 more than 20 species new to the Fen were recorded for the first time, and in 2005 another 10 were added.
Many of the species lists can be downloaded from the Fen website (see below). Wicken Fen was established as a nature reserve because of its
Invertebrates
The reserve supports large numbers of fly, snail, spider and beetle species. Damselflies found here include the
Birds
The site is mainly noted for its plants and invertebrates, but many birds also can be seen. These are particularly popular with visitors as they are often easier to observe than the more elusive insects and plants.
Bird species recorded living at the site include
Fungi
Recording of fungi at Wicken goes back at least to 1924, with a first checklist published in 1935.[29] There are now more than 700 species of fungi known from the reserve,[30] representing at least 38 different orders.[31] About 130 of these species are lichen-forming, and about 120 others were found in soil.[32] Many of the others are saprobes on decaying plant material, including several species associated only with fenland plants. Ectomycorrhizal fungi, which typically prefer well-drained soils, are few: despite the presence of substantial oaks on fairly open, moderately dry ground in the reserve's carr thickets, oak-specific mycorrhizal toadstools are largely and perhaps wholly absent. The probable explanation is that those oaks are recent, and no more likely to be mycologically productive than any new and artificial plantation.[31]
Plants
Notable plants include the
References
- ^ a b c d "Designated Sites View: Wicken Fen". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ "Wicken Fen". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ "Map of Wicken Fen". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ "Cambridgeshire's National Nature Reserves". Natural England. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ISBN 0521-21403-3.
- ^ "Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands (RIS): Wicken Fen" (PDF). Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ "Fenland SAC". Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ "Fenland SAC (Woodwalton Fen, Wicken Fen & Chippenham Fen)" (PDF). Cambridgeshire County Council. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ "Wicken Fen Nature Reserve". National Trust. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve". Wicken Fen..
- ^ Tim Sands. Wildlife in Trust: a hundred years of nature conservation. The Wildlife Trusts, 2012. Page 672.
- ^ Rowell, T.A. (1983). History and Management of Wicken Fen. PhD thesis, University of Cambridge.
- ^ a b "Fungi of Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire: an annotated list". 16 December 2008. Archived from the original on 16 December 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ISBN 9780727719706.
- ^ "National Mills Weekend: Wicken Fen mill". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ^ Peter Victor (14 June 1993). "Botanists pave way for return of swallowtail: Britain's largest butterfly is to grace a fen where ideal habitat has been created". The Independent.
- ^ "Research". Wicken Fen. Archived from the original on 28 May 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2006.
- ^ Maps of National Trust owned land at Wicken Fen Archived 19 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 18 December 2011
- ^ "Wicken Fen: The History". National Trust. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- Wikidata Q101626317.
- ^ "National Trust Annual Reports". Archived from the original on 26 December 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
- ^
"The Wicken Vision - Introduction". National Trust. Archived from the originalon 25 May 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^ http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-access-annual-report-09.pdf Archived 29 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine National Trust Annual Report 2009)
- ^ Petition supporting the Vision, 846 votes; Petition against the Vision, 418 votes
- ^ "Vision Bridges the Gap". National Trust. 18 April 2010. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^
"The Wicken Vision - Lodes Way". National Trust. Archived from the originalon 13 January 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^ "Cambridge to Wicken Fen walking and cycling network – now a step closer". Sustrans. 4 March 2009. Archived from the original on 24 December 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
- ^ a b c "Wildlife". Wicken Fen. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
- ^ "Transactions of the British Mycological Society 19 (4): 280, 1935". www.cybertruffle.org.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "Wicken Fen (NT) | Pan-species Listing". psl.brc.ac.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ a b "Fungi of Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire: an annotated list". 16 December 2008. Archived from the original on 16 December 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "Transactions of the British Mycological Society 36 (4): 304, 1953". www.cybertruffle.org.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
External links
- Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve information at the National Trust
- DEFRA page on enlarging the reserve
- "Wicken Fen citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
Further reading
- Anthony Day (1985). Turf Village. Cambridgeshire Libraries and Information Service.
- Friday, L.E., ed. (1997). Wicken Fen: the making of a wetland nature reserve. Harley Books, Colchester.
- Friday, L.E., Harley, B. (2000). Checklist of the Flora and Fauna of Wicken Fen. Harley Books, Colchester.