Road Verges of Conservation Importance (definition)

Road verges contain a variety of habitats, but in the Durham context their main value lies in the species rich grassland communities that have managed to survive in parts.  These botanically species rich verges also have value for invertebrates.

Identification & Mapping

To meet the definition a road verge of conservation importance must:

1. contain at least 5 species from the following list within at least one 20m linear section.

Agrimony	Dyer’s greenweed	Marsh/Fen bedstraw	Sweet cicely
Betony	Eyebright Goat’s-beard	Meadow vetchling	Thyme-leaved sandwort
Bitter vetch	Fairy flax	Melancholy thistle	Tormentil
Bloody cranesbill	Great burnet	Milkworts	Water avens
Bugle	Gentians	Mouse-ear hawkweed	Water mint
Burnett saxifrage	Globe flower	Orchids	Wild marjoram
Carline thistle	Greater Knapweed	Pepper saxifrage	Wild thyme
Common bird’s-foot trefoil	Hairy violet	Pignut	Wood anenome
Common bistort	Harebell	Purple milk vetch	Wood cranesbill
Common Centaury	Hawkbits	Quaking Grass	Yellow rattle
Common meadow-rue	Hoary plantain	Ragged robin	Yellow-wort
Common rock-rose	Horeshoe vetch	Salad burnet	Small blue-green sedges
Common Knapweed	Kidney vetch	Saw-wort	Ancient woodland indicators
Cowslip	Lady’s bedstraw	Small Scabious
Devil’s-bit scabious	Lady’s mantles	Sneezewort

(Derived from lists for lowland calcareous grassland and lowland meadow in DEFRA’s HLS-FEP handbook* with some adjustment for Durham.)

2. contain any of the red-listed* lady’s mantles Alchemilla acutiloba, A. glomerulans, A. monticola, A. subcrenata, A.wichurae, or Northern Hawks-beard  – Crepis mollis.

3. be a recorded breeding site for any Durham BAP invertebrate species.

For the purposes of mapping a road verge parcel needs to be contained within a reasonable management unit (e.g between field entrances or road junctions).

Condition Assessment

There is currently no condition assessment defined for this habitat, although species lists from fixed quadrats on a sample of road verge parcels are recorded regularly to monitor species loss / gain.

*DEFRA (2005) Higher Level Stewardship: Farm Environment Plan – Guidance handbook.  www.defra.gov.uk

*JNCC (2007). Conservation Designations for UK Taxa – downloadable spreadsheet.  jncc.gov.uk