NIDES: A Summary

This review deals with open ground in forests in Britain’s uplands. Such ground includes integral open space (roads, rides, streams, deer glades and felled areas), larger open areas (high ground and bogs, etc. managed for conservation) and grazings. In the uplands, integral open space probably occupies 12.5 % of the woodland area while the combination of all three types occupies 34 % of the Forestry Commission’s landholding. The integral open space is mainly managed for access, compartmentalisation, fire limitation, riparian buffering and deer management. Nature conservation could be incorporated as an objective. The setting of conservation objectives is considered and the concept of managing for biodiversity is discussed. In theory, managing for biodiversity is ideal but in reality, it is impractical because total biodiversity is too complex to deal with. The requirements of various species and groups of plants and animals known to use forest open ground are reviewed. The importance of such ground for other, less well studied, groups needs to be assessed. Methods of managing open ground for nature conservation are reviewed for the thre