Parsonage Down is
one of the most outstanding chalk downland sites in Britain. It is
an SSSI and part of a National Nature Reserve owned by Natural
England. Situated on the Upper Chalk of the southern edge of
Salisbury Plain, the site is of particular interest as an extensive
area of flat and gently sloping land, much of which has escaped
ploughing and other agricultural improvement during the last 100
years.
For at least 60
years the site has been grazed extensively by hardy breeds of
cattle and sheep at a carefully regulated stocking rate; this
continuity has been important in maintaining plant and animal
diversity. Further evidence, both archaeological and documentary,
has contributed to a detailed knowledge of land use history which
is an important facet of the interest of Parsonage
Down.
The botanically-rich
grassland which covers most of the site is broadly referable to the
sheep’s-fescue -- meadow oat-grass Festuca ovina -- Avenula
pratensis type. However red fescue Festuca rubra and downy
oat-grass Avenula pubescens also occur in areas of herb-rich turf.
This unusual feature may be related to local soils and
topography.
A remarkable variety
of vascular plants occur within the sward; it is common to record
over 30 species in a square metre. Of the 28 grasses and sedges
occurring on the site, dwarf sedge Carex humilis and glaucous sedge
C. flacca, heath-grass Danthonia decumbens, yellow oat-grass
Trisetum flavescens and crested hair-grass Koeleria macrantha are
widespread. Herbs which typify the south west Wiltshire chalk are
common on the site and include saw-wort Serratula tinctoria,
devil’s-bit scabious Succisa pratensis, betony Stachys
officinalis, yellow rattle Rhinanthus minor and dropwort
Filipendula vulgaris. Many plants which exist at Parsonage Down
have a restricted distribution in Britain. Amongst these are early
gentian Gentianella angelica, bastardtoadflax Thesium humifusum,
chalk milkwort Polygala calcarea, dodder Cuscuta epithymum and
field fleawort Senecio integrifolius. Orchids are well represented
and include burnt and green-winged orchids Orchis ustulata and O.
morio and frog orchid Coeloglossum viride.
Periodically, from
prehistoric times to the last war, parts of the down have been used
for crop production. An area ploughed and resown during the last
war has since been left unimproved and now holds small
quantities of typical downland plants such as salad burnet
Sanguisorba minor and clustered bellflower Campanula glomerata.
Adjacent to high quality downland, this area is of value for the
study of recolonisation of chalk grassland.
The regularity of
grazing has restricted scrub development on the down. However gorse
Ulex europaeus and hawthorn Crataegus monogyna occur locally as
clumps with bramble Rubus fruticosus agg and dog rose Rosa canina.
To the west of the site are more extensive areas of
scrub.
Limited invertebrate
study has so far revealed several interesting species. The rare
spiders Xysticus cristatus and Oxyptila simplex were noted in 1980,
whilst several notable true flies (diptera) including Leptarthrus
brevirostris and Meonura minutissima were recorded in 1982. The
well grazed sward supports typical downland butterflies such as
marbled white Melanargia galathea and brown argus Aricia
agestis.
Birds which rely on
the downland for breeding include lapwing, grey
and red-legged partridge, whilst areas of scrub
support yellowhammer and turtle dove.
The previous owner, Robert Wales, left the farm
to the nation in 1979, and the first management plan was produced
in 1988 by the Nature Conservancy Council with the help of Bill
Elliott who was Robert Wales' farm manager and the first reserve
warden. The high biodiversity of the downland at that time
was the result of decades of low intensity grazing by cattle and
sheep. The principle of pasture management was that the livestock
density during the summer was adjusted to the number of cattle and
sheep that could be supported on the down during the winter without
supplementary feed or the use of chemical
fertilizer.
First Management Plan:1988
This plan was
produced using the conservation management protocol of the Nature
Conservancy Council that was subsequently developed at the CMSi
software package
Environmental Information
Bibliography
Conservation Status of the Site
Factors Influencing Management
Operational Objectives and Management
Options
Projects
