Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Gower Commoners Association, in conjunction with the local authority, has erected fencing and cattle
grids on some commons at the eastern end of the peninsula, close to the urban area. Clyne Common, for
example, was fenced and gridded in the late 1970s. While fencing and gridding can be beneficial to the
vegetation and wildlife by reducing the number of animals killed, the visual impact of the fencing is an
issue and it is also unpopular with access organisations.
FIG 123. Ponies and vehicles on the 'Red Road' near Broad Pool on Cefn Bryn Common. Traffic accidents are a
major cause of death. (Jonathan Mullard)
The commons are frequently burnt with the intention of improving the grazing. Most are burnt on a
two- or three-year rotation to provide an 'early bite' for the animals. This produces a patchwork of acidic
grasslands and heather-dominated communities. It seems that burning was not an important element of
commons management before the nineteenth century, traditional practices and the scale of grazing up to
that date effectively maintaining the low-nutrient status of the common and its open plant communities.
Heather was particularly valued as winter fodder for sheep in severe weather, and gorse was used both as
fuel, especially for bread ovens, and as cattle feed. In Wales crushed gorse was also used as 'chaff' for
horses, and care was taken to ensure that a useable amount was retained on the commons. The custom of
feeding animals, especially horses and calves, with gorse remained fashionable in fact until the beginning
of the twentieth century and gorse mixed with straw, hay, or bran was considered to be very nourish-
ing. There was therefore deliberate management and conservation of the available resources. Only when
activities such as the cutting of bracken for bedding and gorse for fodder ceased, and the grazing levels
declined, didincreased burningbecome necessary tokeepthegrazingopen.Muchofthemanagement for
conservation isaboutreplacing burningbymechanical cuttingandremovalofthecutmaterial tokeepthe
nutrient levels low.
The burning comes under the control of the Heather and Grass Burning Regulations and is generally
allowed only between 1 November and 31 March in lowland areas such as Gower. In the past there has
been a large amount of burning, and just before the cutoff date of 31 March, assuming the weather was
suitably dry, many of the Gower commons were set on fire (Fig. 124). Palls of smoke visible from the
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