Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
1602, for example, there was a herd of eleven dairy cows and heifers, three of which were red, two black,
and two brown; two others were white-faced reds, another a white-faced black, the last animal having a
speckled head, white belly and black back. The surviving breeds, though reduced in numbers, are an im-
portant component of the Welsh landscape and their preservation contributes to wildlife conservation in
areas such as Gower. Studies have shown, for example, that the grazing patterns of Welsh ponies are very
good in creating habitats that are suitable for birds and that they create an excellent vegetation structure
andamosaicofdifferentplantsthatbenefitsmanyotheranimals.CattlesuchastheHerefordcross,which
despite their name have a long association with Wales, are also good at maintaining vegetation structure,
whiletheHerefordbeefshort-horncrossisconsideredtobeverygoodatcontrollinginvasivegrass.Much
ofthisevidenceisanecdotal,andverylittleisknownaboutthepreciseeffectsthatthegrazingofindividu-
al breeds has on plant communities and the associated animals. It is recognised, however, that wet heath
is best managed by being grazed by horses and cattle rather than sheep, which graze too uniformly. On
the Gower commons today the main grazing animals include several varieties of Welsh mountain sheep,
together with continental breeds of cattle and the Welsh mountain pony (Fig. 114).
Although there have been a number of estimates over the years there are still no accurate figures for
thenumberofanimalsgrazingthecommons.Differentcommoners,forexample,putsheeponatdifferent
times of the year and although there are animals grazing every week of the year there are considerable
variations in the total number of sheep present. Some commoners will take their sheep off the common
for tupping and lambing in February and not put them back again until June. Many of these animals are
hefted, a heft being an area habitually grazed by an individual flock that has been bred to stay in a partic-
ular area, even though there is no physical boundary. Cattle are normally taken off the commons during
the winter months of December, January and February, but again this varies depending on the commoner
and the common. The main strongholds of the Welsh pony, apart from Llanrhidian Marsh, are Cefn Bryn,
Fairwood, Pengwern and Pennard commons. On Cefn Bryn the area is large enough for there to be two
herds, one on the Reynoldston side of the common and one on the Cilibion side. Altogether there are ap-
proximately 80 ponies with two stallions, one for either side of the hill.
