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Management The amenity value of the Common is well appreciated, with numerous dog walkers, and people enjoying the pleasant surroundings all frequenting the Common. |
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Management The amenity value of the Common is well appreciated, with numerous dog walkers, and people enjoying the pleasant surroundings all frequenting the Common. |
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The variety of different habitats on Mitcham Common are home to many species of wildflowers and animals, culminating into a diverse distraction from busy urban life, full of colours, sights, sounds and scents, in an area close to the heart of London.
Given priority status due to it becoming increasingly scarce, fragmented and under pressure from development and agriculture, acid grassland forms a large part of the habitat on Mitcham Common. On the Common, acid grassland is threatened from scrub/woodland encroachment and shading. Therefore, as part of the management regime, scrub and woodland edge habitat is kept in check. Acid grassland requires nutrient poor soil to grow. Scrapes are sometimes dug in areas where acid grassland has been lost because of the build up of nutrients, which favours more vigorous species of grasses. By scraping off the nutrient rich top layer, acid grassland species can once again flourish.
Heathland is another habitat on the Common which is afforded priority due to its international importance. Most of the areas of heather on the Common are on the golf course where it is under pressure from gorse and scrub shading. Here it is managed by cutting back and treating the competition allowing more light to reach the heather. The use of scrapes to reduce the nutrient content, as described above, is also used for heathland restoration.
The three main ponds on the Common, Seven Islands, One Island and Bidders, all contain a variety of wildlife including fish, amphibians, birds and dragonflies. However, this balance can sometimes be lost as the fish numbers are often illegally added to, leading to an explosion in their numbers. This affects other animals in the ponds whose young become vulnerable as prey for fish, often resulting in a reduction of their numbers. In addition, the increased fishing that large numbers of fish attract can cause conflict with other users of the ponds including dog walkers and birds becoming entangled in fishing line and hooks. Also, the extra bait that is used in the ponds builds up the nutrients which can lead to algal blooms. To deter these problems, the fish are periodically removed from the ponds.
There are various seasonal ponds around the Common which dry up over the summer months. Here fish are unable to survive, meaning they are excellent for amphibians and invertebrates such as frogs, toads, newts, dragonflies and damselflies.
A good way of preserving the openness of the Common is to harvest areas for hay, so tree species cannot colonise. Late every summer areas are designated for cutting, and the arisings are allowed to dry and be collected as hay. Whilst this operation is carried out, it is important to leave suitable adjacent areas uncut, to allow animals to seek refuge there. This practice also removes nutrients from the system, which over a period of time will encourage more revered nutrient poor species to colonise, including acid grassland species.
The amenity value of the Common is well appreciated, with numerous dog walkers, and people enjoying the pleasant surroundings all frequenting the Common. There are places on the Common where amenity value is more emphasised such as Mill Green. The management is more intensive in these areas, as mowing during the summer months is required to keep the grass shorter. Here local people can often be seen enjoying picnics and playing football.
Mitcham Common Management Plan 2007-2012. Download plans in PDF format from the links below.
Download Mitcham Common Management Plan
Download Mitcham Common Management Plan Appendices
The Conservators agree an annual work programme for the Common which is presented as a series of seasonal work schedules.
2008
Download Summer 2008 Work Schedule