Iconic silver studded blue butterfly thriving after the fire at Thursley National Nature Reserve

16/07/2008 09:14:32 July 2008. The silver studded blue butterfly is once again thriving at Thursley National Nature Reserve, Natural England announced on the second anniversary of the five day fire which tore through the 400 hectare site - home to some of England's most endangered flora and fauna.

Around 120 fire fighters battled to save the lowland heath nature reserve and at the time it was feared the fire could lead to irreversible loss of rare wildlife. Two years on, recent monitoring results show that the sterling efforts of fire fighters, conservationists and local volunteers were not in vain.

500% increase since fire
Natural England's Simon Nobes is the Senior Reserve Manager for Thursley and worked with fire fighters during the disaster to save the butterfly colonies - which have become confined to just a handful of sites in England and Wales. "On our most recent survey last week we found 126 butterflies at one location, an increase of over 100 since they were first surveyed after the fire," Simon revealed.

Remarkable recovery
Speaking about his experience Simon said: "The flames consumed the dry and wet heathland with frightening speed, burning out Dartford warbler nest sites, sand lizard areas and butterfly colonies - leaving a barren, scorched landscape of ash in their wake. Looking back at what was left of the Reserve, it is fantastic that populations of these fragile butterflies have pulled through, showing outstanding powers of recovery."

 

Fragmented wildlife
Sir Martin Doughty, Chair of Natural England said: "Wildlife in England has become increasingly fragmented and National Nature Reserves provide crucial refuge for endangered species, acting as pockets of biodiversity from which nature can grow.

"When Thursley, a nucleus of threatened species, went up in flames we thought our worst fears had been realised. However, through the combined efforts of fire fighters, the local community and our Reserve staff, against the odds, Thursley has been saved."

Sir Martin was quick to praise the efforts of local people who raised over £8,000 to help rehabilitate the heathland, repair visitor facilities and to train and equip a number of new volunteer fire wardens to spot potential dangers on the Reserve and act to prevent a repeat of the devastating fires of 2006.

Simon Nobes concluded: "I believe the heartening recovery of Thursley is due in no small part to the unflinching support and passion of local people who were determined to bring this important wildlife habitat and popular visitor site back to life."

Why has there been a decline in the condition of lowland heaths?
Lowland heathlands were widely used until the mid-19th century. Trees were cut for firewood or building material; bracken was used for animal bedding; gorse for fodder; heather for fodder, animal bedding or thatching. This and grazing maintained heathlands as open habitats in areas of nutrient-poor soils.

By the mid-1800s and early 1900s large cities were developed on heathlands including London and Bournemouth. Many heathlands were planted with conifers or, later and thanks to the development of inorganic fertilisers, they were transformed into arable land. At the same time, the remaining heathland fragments became isolated and less important in the farming economy, so they ceased to be managed and were ‘scrubbed up'.

Which plant and animal species are affected?
Many of these species are endangered due to the reduction in the habitat available or the lack of appropriate management such as grazing. Birds that need bare ground and short heather and grasses for example stone curlew Burhinus oedicnemus, stonechat Saxicola torquata or Dartford warbler Sylvia undata which needs gorse, but also short vegetation; nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus also nests in open habitat although uses a variety of vegetation.

Other species affected by the lack of open ground or vegetation structure are sand lizards Lacerta agilis, which have a very restricted distribution. For invertebrates, the lack of diversity of flowering plants restricts the presence of nectar feeding species. Heathland plants that need open ground, usually provided through grazing, are marsh gentian Gentiana pneumonanthe or marsh clubmoss Lycopodiella inundata.

How much of the UK is covered in lowland heath?
Most recent estimates are around 90,000 ha (nearly 60,000 ha in England) representing a high proportion of the European resource. Heathlands characterised by heather Calluna vulgaris are only present in Western-Atlantic Europe.