Natural England - Test Valley ESA

Test Valley ESA

The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) scheme has now closed to new applicants and has been superseded by the Environmental Stewardship scheme. Some existing agreements will, however, continue until 2014.

The valley of the River Test cuts through the chalk downlands of central Hampshire from its source near Overton in the north to the head of Southampton Water in the south. The ESA covers much of the valley floor and the lower parts of all its major tributaries, excepting the river Blackwater, and now covers a total area of 4,850 ha. The ESA comprises mainly grassland, used for a range of livestock grazing systems, with beef, sheep, dairying and horses.

Description

The River Test meanders through chalk downland and divides into many channels and streams which flow through pasture interspersed with trees. The distinct linear form of the landscape is emphasised by the drifts of tree cover at the water’s edge. Past management and the retention of high water levels have led to the occurrence of extremely diverse plant communities. The grassland, associated wetland communities and the river channel vegetation are of national ecological importance. The most notable historical features are the remains of old water meadow systems which date from 17th and 18th Century, but which were mostly abandoned by the end of 19th Century.

Significant habitats and species

The wet grassland in the Test Valley and the associated wetland habitats, such as reedbed, fen and fen carr, are of national and regional wildlife conservation value. Eight Sites of Special Scientific Interest have been designated covering 877 ha and the ESA also includes parts of a Ramsar site, a Special Protection Area and a Special Area of Conservation. The soils of the Test Valley comprise a complex matrix of silt, peat and tufa overlying valley gravels, and different combinations of these occur down the valley. The historical land use was governed by soil type. It was on the less peaty alluvial soils that the water meadow system was practised for spring sheep grazing, with cow commons on the peaty land. The old water meadows have vegetation types that vary from species-rich unimproved neutral grassland to grass-dominated species-poor communities. The common land encompasses vegetation types that range from reedbed to dry calcareous grassland and includes fen meadow which supports many rare and declining species.

ESA management options

There were three main management options available within the Test Valley ESA:

  • To maintain and enhance the nature conservation interest of the river valley grassland by sustaining and extending the area under extensive management, and by increasing the area of land attractive to waders and wildfowl.

  • To create new grassland habitats and protect the nature conservation interest of watercourses by reverting arable to permanent grassland and by establishing grass buffer strips.

  • To maintain and enhance the nature conservation and landscape interest of small-scale native woodland. 

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