Ainsdale Sand Dune Slacks LTE
General Information
UUID
c49e1cca-141e-4e72-b11e-5c25bd0e4898
Location Type
Description
The Sally Edmondson plots at Ainsdale on the West Lancashire coast were established in 1974 and constitute the longest-running dune slack wetland grazing experiment in the UK. The experiment consists of sheep and rabbit exclosures within sand dune slacks. The experiment is located within Ainsdale Sand Dunes National Nature Reserve, Merseyside, which is owned and managed by Natural England. The reserve in turn is part of Sefton Coast (including Sefton Coast SSSI and Sefton Coast SAC).
The experiment was established in 1974 by Sally Edmondson with the initial aim of determining the impact of the primary mammalian herbivores at the site—rabbits—on plant community dynamics. In 1991, sheep grazing was introduced onto the reserve. At this time, sheep exclosures were erected around all the rabbit grazing exclosures in two of the dune slacks. The aim now, therefore, is to understand the impact of grazing management and ‘natural’ rabbit grazing on dune slack ecosystem processes.
The experiment consists of three 1.5m x 1.5m rabbit exclosures, in each of four dune slacks. These were established in 1974. A plan of the plots at each of the four sites and a larger map locating the sites within the dunes can be viewed. In two dune slacks, the rabbit exclosures are surrounded by sheep exclosures (erected in 1991 when sheep grazing was introduced) encompassing all three rabbit exclosures. The gauge of these sheep exclosures excluded sheep but enabled rabbits to access the plots. The result is three separate grazing treatments: ungrazed, rabbit-grazed and rabbit-then-rabbit + sheep-grazed (the management regime at the site).
Details here: https://www.ecologicalcontinuitytrust.org/ainsdale-dune-slacks
The experiment was established in 1974 by Sally Edmondson with the initial aim of determining the impact of the primary mammalian herbivores at the site—rabbits—on plant community dynamics. In 1991, sheep grazing was introduced onto the reserve. At this time, sheep exclosures were erected around all the rabbit grazing exclosures in two of the dune slacks. The aim now, therefore, is to understand the impact of grazing management and ‘natural’ rabbit grazing on dune slack ecosystem processes.
The experiment consists of three 1.5m x 1.5m rabbit exclosures, in each of four dune slacks. These were established in 1974. A plan of the plots at each of the four sites and a larger map locating the sites within the dunes can be viewed. In two dune slacks, the rabbit exclosures are surrounded by sheep exclosures (erected in 1991 when sheep grazing was introduced) encompassing all three rabbit exclosures. The gauge of these sheep exclosures excluded sheep but enabled rabbits to access the plots. The result is three separate grazing treatments: ungrazed, rabbit-grazed and rabbit-then-rabbit + sheep-grazed (the management regime at the site).
Details here: https://www.ecologicalcontinuitytrust.org/ainsdale-dune-slacks