The land of Whitehouse
Farm at Frostenden, near Beccles in Suffolk within the SSSI is
recognised as internationally important as it is within the SPA. It is part of the valley of the
Eastern River running down through Easton Broad to the sea. The river flows down the eastern
edge of the valley bottom and a number of lateral dykes in the northern marshes connect into it.
A mainstream dam keeps the water levels high in the northern marshes. The southern marshes
are surrounded by banks, which hold water on the marshes at differing heights. The land
comprises an interesting and special mosaic of habitats associated with the following features.
The land of Whitehouse
Farm within the SSSI is recognised as internationally important as it is
within the SPA. It is part of the valley of the Eastern River running down through Easton Broad
to the sea. The river flows down the eastern edge of the valley bottom and a number of lateral
dykes in the northern marshes connect into it. A mainstream dam keeps the water levels high in
the northern marshes. The southern marshes are surrounded by banks, which hold water on the
marshes at differing heights. The land comprises an interesting and special mosaic of habitats
associated with the following features.
Ditches
Rationale:
Drainage ditches
are important both for the range of flora and fauna they support. Bitterns feed
on aquatic prey, notably small eels. A network of rotationally maintained ditches provides
feeding sites, act as a refuge for prey and are an important means of dispersal of eels through
reedbed. Older ditches have an accumulation of silt that is an important habitat for eels and
deep ditches hold fish in winter and can provide suitable feeding habitat if they have shallowly
sloped sides. Ditch clearance, using mechanical methods, should be carried out on rotation so
that a range of successional stages are maintained within the ditches. Clearing should be done in
short sections or on one side of the dyke at a time to allow recolonisation by plants and
invertebrates to the cleared areas from the adjacent ones. To reduce damage, material cleared
from the dykes, where possible, should be placed on non-vegetated areas and spread out,
rather than left in spoil dumps. Ditch management should not be undertaken between March
and July (ideally until after mid-August if reed warblers are present as they breed much later
than most ditch-side birds) to avoid disturbance of breeding birds.
The ditches contain
a rich variety of aquatic invertebrates and plants, including the nationally
scarce soft hornwort. Golden dock often appears after ditching work has been carried out.
Objective 1 :
Maintain ditches in a favourable condition where at least one length of ditch is
cleared each year
Factors preventing management reaching the objective: siltation,
and poaching by
cattle, seasonal use by important wildlife
Attributes of the feature that can be used as performance indicators: a
map
showing clearance year by year.
Prescription 1.1 : Rotational ditch maintenance
Project 1.1: Ditch maintenance to be carried out when necessary
between July and March, with only one bank of a ditch to be cleared
in any one year.
Ponds
Description:
There are three
ponds. The largest pond is a resting place for teal and mallard during the day.
Objective 2:
Maintain ponds in a favourable condition where at least 90% of the surface is
unshaded and the minimum depth is 0.5m
Factors preventing management reaching the objective: silting,
tree and scrub
growth.
Attributes of the feature that can be used as performance indicators: amount
of
open, unshaded water, assessed visually on a 4-point scale
Prescription 2.1: Periodic clearance of the pond
Project 2.1 Coppice the trees round the pond.
Project 2.2 Desilt the pond periodically
Project 2.3 Increase the area of water
Reedbeds
Rationale:
If dead plant material
accumulates tree seedlings will establish and as the land dries out it will
revert to woodland. Careful burning will maintain the area and help prevent scrub and bramble
invasion, by clearing the litter. It will increase stem density and early shoot emergence and will
maintain invertebrate diversity if the burn is with the wind. Burning may generate high seed
production due to the nutrient input from the ash. Burning on rotation will allow the build up of
some litter in the intervening years for invertebrates and nesting birds. Burning on rotation will
ensure that there are refuge stands which will alleviate the impact of burning on invertebrate and
mammal populations.
Description:
The reedbeds occupy
the wetter marshes which are no longer grazed and within these is found
the nationally scarce marsh sow-thistle. Bitterns, bearded fits and marsh harriers also use the
reedbeds and in the winter the marshes may be hunted by hen harriers and short-eared owls.
Objective 3:
To maintain the reedbeds in a favourable condition where at least 90% of the
designated area is reedbed
Factors preventing management to reach the objective: botanical
succession to
scrub
Attributes of the feature that can be used as performance indicators:
Visual
appearance of the reedbed measured on a 4-point scale.
Prescription 3.1: Periodic management to reduce the density of non-reed
vegetation.
Project 3.1: Burn vegetation
On the marshes marked on the attached map in green, the dead
vegetation may be burnt between November and March. Burning on
the marshes should not take place more often than one winter in three.
Prescription 3.2
Rejoin the ESA scheme if a payment for keeping land as reedbed was an
option under the scheme.
Prescription 3.3
Extend suitable semi-natural communities into areas such as improved
grassland and plantation woodland.
Grazing marshes
Rationale
Breeding waders
(none) prefer to nest on marshes that are not overgrown or too dominated by
rushes, yet need tussocky vegetation for cover and a light level of grazing will create this
structure. Cattle action produces a tussocky grassland structure that contains many
invertebrates, they also improve the sward by breaking up the root system of invading reeds.
Their manure will host invertebrates and this, combined with their creation of muddy areas, will
also encourage waders. Grazed marsh is also more palatable to grazing wildfowl such as geese
and wigeon. The grazing is currently let and these fields are grazed from the end of April or
May till the end of September. The marshes ideally should not be grazed till after 15 May, as
birds may be breeding up to mid-June but the aim is to allow them to establish their nests. The
mowing, undertaken after the bird breeding season, will help control the spread of rushes and in
combination with the grazing it will prevent the dominance of certain species and prevent the
invasion of scrub into the meadows. Overgrazing, however, will break up the sward, destroy
delicate plants and allow the spread of coarse ones, which is undesirable.In a wet year
poaching is difficult to avoid and these wetter marshes would be a good candidate for reedbed
reversion. The anticipated additional reedbeds that could be created from existing grazing
marsh are marked on the attached map in light green. The use of artificial fertilisers stimulates
the growth of competitive species at the expense of others as they gain advantage from the
rapid release of nutrients. Non-artificial fertilisers release nutrients over a longer period of time
this means that competitive species do not gain an advantage, species richness can be
maintained whilst at the same time sustaining the fertility of the soil.The amount of fertiliser used
is being reduced (none was used in 1996) and its use is likely, eventually to be phased out all
together
Description:
Unimproved grazing
marshes
The northern block
of grazing marsh is botanically rich, The grazing marshes with higher water
levels are used by breeding waders such as snipe.
Semi improved grazing
marshes
The larger southern
block has been agriculturally improved and has fewer plant species
Objective 4: Maintain
cattle-grazed marshes in a favourable condition where at least 90% of
the marshes are free of scrub and poaching, and were fertiliser application is reduced to a
minimum.
Factors preventing
management reaching the objective: poaching, time of grazing, stocking
density, overgrazing, fertiliser application, spread of rushes and scrub.
Attributes of
the feature that can be used as performance indicators: visual condition of
the sward in terms of its integrity and extent on a four point scale.
Presciption 4.1
Have the marshes grazed by cattle.
Project 4.1 : Grazing
The marshes marked in red, blue and light green on the attached map may be
grazed with cattle between 15th April-30th October, avoiding poaching and
overgrazing.
Project 4.2: Mowing
The marshes marked in red, blue and light green on the attached map, may be
mowed between 16 July - 30 October
Prescription 4.2 Maintain the hydrological integrity of the grazing marshes
and lagoons.
Prescription 4.3 Maintain the current water level regime
Prescription4. 4 Manage and repair the bank that surrounds the southern
marshes by
removing the trees on it
Prescription 4.5 Turn some grazing marshes into reedbed if financially
compensated
for the loss of the grazing marshes and for keeping the land as reedbed.
Prescription 4.6 Extend suitable semi-natural communities into areas
such as
improved grassland and plantation woodland.
Alder carr and scrub
Rationale
Natural regeneration of the alder carr on the marshes adds to the structural
diversity of the site
and as a habitat is valuable, however, as it develops it shades out and suppresses the
grassland flora. Some of the willow and many stemmed alder could be coppiced to vary the
structure of the carr. Cutting and grazing will slow
the encroachment of the alder into the
grazing marshes. Any cutting should be done in the winter and it is beneficial for invertebrates
and tree nesting birds to leave any dead wood lying and standing. Areas of well established,
mature alder carr should be retained, younger recently developed carr could be removed and
the area allowed to revert to reedbed
Description:
There are a number
of blocks of alder carr of varying ages, some is quite mature, having not
been managed for at least 80 years. Trees and scrub are beneficial by providing food and
shelter for birds and invertebrates. Dense patches of scrub along river banks can be important
for otters. Otter numbers are recovering and as their population is expanding within England
they should naturally recolonise this area.
Objective
5 Maintain alder carr and scrub in a favourable condition where at least 25% of the
designated area is occupied by rotational coppice
Factors preventing management reaching the objective:
grazing, density of
canopy and under-scrub, amount of dead wood
Attributes of the feature that can be used as performance indicators:
Areas of
coppice mapped year by year
Prescription 5.1 Manage the alder and willow by coppicing and
periodic
grazing
Project 5.1 . Coppicing around pond
The area of trees round the pond, marked in orange on the map, may
in the future, if desired, be coppiced, with the work being carried out
between October and March.
Prescription 5.2 Convert young carr to reedbed
Prescription 5.3 Extend suitable semi-natural communities into areas
such as
improved grassland and plantation woodland.
The Rest of the Farm
The features are:
hedgerows:
headlands;
field ponds;
woodlands;
old brick pits;
reservoir.
