RHONDDA CYNON TAF ACTION FOR NATURE PLAN
Roadside verges are defined as the strip of land between the roadside and the fence, hedge or wall adjacent to it. In Wales, these roadside verges cover an estimated 10,000 hectares of land and are important sanctuaries for wildlife, particularly pollinating insects. Although valuable habitats in their own right, these roadside verges also act as important linear pathways in the landscape (pollinator highways), connecting together otherwise isolated habitat patches and allowing species to move freely within the landscape.
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The County Borough is criss-crossed by hundreds of miles of roads. Within their curtilages are banks, trees,
verges and roundabouts. They represent a grassland, scrub and hedgerow area which is an important collective biodiversity resource. The best road verges can support species-rich, long established hay meadow vegetation, diverse secondary calcareous grassland, luxuriant stands of heather, bilberry, mixed scrub and emerging woodland.
Roads present barriers to movement, affect drainage patterns and create water, air and noise pollution. They have compromised and destroyed many valuable wildlife sites. However, if properly managed, their verges can represent a valuable and under-utilised resource for wildlife. Verge management for biodiversity has become more important in recent years and the Council now has a wildflower grassland management policy and an increasing area in biodiversity ‘cut and collect’ management. There is potential to spread this best practice more widely across the public estate, including hospitals, education establishments, Transport for Wales, community councils etc. as well as expanding the Councils programme. There is also scope to promote this approach in private gardens, with business and commercial operators and other land managers. The management of trees on verges is another important issue, especially as ash die-back is affecting many roadside trees. There are significant benefits for biodiversity and the overall appearance and appeal of our roads.
Associated Species
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Bird's foot trefoil
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Black knapweed
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Oxeye Daisy
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Waxcaps
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Orchids
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Bumblebees
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Common Blue Butterfly
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Kestrel
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Sparrow Hawk
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Common Lizard
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Smooth Newt
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Common Toad
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Common Frog
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Slow Worm
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Grass Snake
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Brown-banded carder bee
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Curculio betulae, a weevil,
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Forficula lesnei Lesne's earwig
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Globiceps fulvicollis a mirid bug
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Oxystoma cerdo, a weevil
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Scolopostethus puberulus, a ground bug
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Sitona waterhousei, a weevil
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Stygnocoris rusticus, a ground bug
Church Village Bypass
In 2017 an invertebrate survey was undertaken on roadside verges across RCT. These roadside verges had experienced changes from traditional management practices (i.e. frequent mowing) to more sensitive management for the benefit of pollinators (i.e. less frequent mowing and the removal of cut material). The purpose of these surveys was to identify what pollinator species (and other invertebrates) are exploiting the new habitat made available by the more sensitive management of roadside verges.
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The Church Village Bypass Road (A473) was one of these, which opened in 2010 and connects Llantrisant to Treforest, bypassing Church Village, Llantwit Fardre and Tonteg. Wide verges are evident along much of the bypass road, which was built through several acres of green-belt land. These roadside verges were found to be floristically-rich, comprising a diverse plant flora that can be broadly characterised as marshy grassland habitat.
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A total of 145 invertebrate species were recorded on the roadside verges of Church Village Bypass Road across a wide variety of invertebrate groups, with Coleoptera (24 species), Diptera (26 species) and Hemiptera (52 species) being particularly well represented. Of the 145 invertebrate species identified, four species were deemed to be of ‘conservation importance’ (i.e. species considered to be localised, scarce or rare, and/or are listed under Section 7 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 as Species of Principal Importance in Wales).
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This survey determined that while management of roadside verges is often directed towards encouraging a diverse flora for the benefit of pollinating insects, it is clear from the results of this study that a wide diversity of other invertebrates also benefit. At total of 130 invertebrate species were noted to be plant-associated. While plants provide invertebrates with nectar and pollen resources, they also provide a wide range of other resources such as living and dead plant material. Encouraging a diverse plant fauna on roadside verges is therefore likely to be most beneficial to the majority of invertebrates using these habitats. While more sympathetic management of roadside verges for pollinators will largely benefit common and widespread species, specialist species will also benefit. At least eight specialist species of ‘conservation importance’ were noted on these roadside verges. This included five nationally scarce (Nb) species and one Section 7 species. Continued management of these roadside verges is therefore important in order to conserve these species of national importance. Extending management to include other roadside verges not currently in management will also benefit these species by providing further habitat.
