Compartment 16 covers those areas of the common formerly occupied by runways, taxiways, handling facilities and ancillary buildings. The compartment covers an area of 77.5 hectares. It is not divided into subcompartments.
Following the acquisition of the common by West Berkshire Coucil, the concrete and tarmac base was taken up, processed and removed leaving the underlying gravels. Areas were infilled and re-modelled to create a variety of landforms. There are stretches of bare gravel at varying stages of colonisation by pioneer and open ground annual species. There are elements of scrub, ponds (both ephemeral and perennial) and some grassland and heathland. The whole compartment is available for grazing by cattle and Exmoor ponies.
Compartment 16 is highly varied in terms of both the extent and type of vegetation cover. It is best described as a mosaic of open ground, grassland, heathland and scrub, interspersed with water bodies. Rare spring sedge, annual knawel, fine-leaved sandwort (all BAP species) and rue-leaved saxifrage exemplify the botanical interest of the open ground. Calcicolous species such as kidney vetch and dwarf thistle occur in base-rich areas where concrete fragments from the runway and taxiways were assimilated into the gravels. Kidney vetch in particular is important as the primary larval foodplant for the small blue butterfly, which is common in those places where the plant grows.
Bryophyte communities are of particular note. Tendril-like mosses are prominent in the gravel areas together with a range of lichens of the genus Cladonia. Mosses of the genus Bryum and others are associated with ridges and piles of gravel. There are also some important calcicolous species within base-rich zones.
Northern lapwing (a BAP species), little ringed plover, ringed plover, meadow pipit and woodlark are present within this compartment or regularly breed here making this one of the most important areas of the common for ground-nesting birds. Thickets of dense scrub within and on the edges of the compartment also provide suitable habitat for nightingale.
Dark bush-cricket, long-winged conehead, meadow grasshopper, field grasshopper and mottled grasshopper are all present.
The perennial and ephemeral ponds and general wetland habitats provide a good deal of interest, some having pioneer species such as stoneworts and others in a more advanced state of colonisation with rushes, sedges such as common yellow sedge, and common spike rush at the margins, and aquatics such as broad-leaved pondweed. A good range of dragonflies, damselflies and other invertebrates breed in the ponds. Unfortunately the invasive New Zealand pygmyweed is widespread within the ponds.
Options exist for parts of the compartment
Maintain current extent of gorse (other than on south-facing slopes on the route of the runway) but diversify structure. Reduce bramble cover in selected areas. Diversify structure of scrub stands. Clear all scrub from wader nesting sites and scrape patches of gravel on an annual basis; remove high perch trees from within these areas and around the edges to reduce nest and chick predation by crows.
Undertake trials to control New Zealand pygmyweed in a selection of ponds.
Control ragwort where necessary and desirable.
| Objective | Area | Method | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16.1) Start to create and maintain a diverse gorse structure in dominant stands by 2012. | Small patches of gorse throughout compartment excluding eastern section of former runway. | Coppice sections of dense gorse on a rotation. Allow to regenerate. Cut and remove using hand tools, chainsaw or cut and collect mower. | Do not treat stumps. |
16.2) Clear all gorse from south-facing banks in this compartment and reduce overall cover by 20% by 2015.HLS objectives
|
Eastern section of former runway. | Clear all gorse on south-facing slopes and selected gorse stands elsewhere by cutting and removing using hand tools, chainsaw or cut and collect mower. Treat stumps. | To benefit a range of thermophilous invertebrates and reptiles in particular. |
| 16.3) Control bramble cover: reduce overall cover by 10% by 2013. | Throughout compartment. | Mow selected blocks of bramble using cut and collect mower, compost material off site. | Repeat in 2016. |
| 16.4) Retain scrub but improve structure of stands by 2021. | Throughout compartment (excluding fireplane area). | Coppice selected individuals within a number of stands on a 10 year rotation from 2011. Coppice a number of entire stands of 'leggy' scrub (where contiguous with dense field layer vegetation) to ground level and allow to re-grow to form thickets, follow a 10 year rotation. | Do not treat stumps.
Management to produce thickets of scrub suitable for nightingale. |
16.5) Monitor heather establishment on gravels, repeat seeding if necessary.HLS objectives
|
Northeast taxiway. | Monitor heather establishment and repeat seeding if necessary - collect material, using a cut and collect mower, from donor areas on the site and spread cuttings on recipient area. | |
| 16.6) Remove all scrub from wader nesting areas by 2012. | Fireplane area and other key wader sites. | Cut and remove scrub using hand tools, chainsaw or cut and collect mower. Treat stumps. | |
| 16.7) Re-set succession on gravel areas. | Fireplane area and other selected areas. | Scrape selected vegetated patches of gravel (c. 100 m2 of varying shapes) back to bare gravel, commencing in 2012. Remove turves from site and compost. Repeat annually on a 10 year rotation. | Benefits pioneer and open ground annual species and provides suitable nesting habitat for waders. |
| 16.8) Reduce corvid predation in wader nesting areas. | Fireplane area and other selected areas. | Fell all high perch trees within 50 metres of the outermost edges of these areas using a chainsaw, retain scrub. Leave cut timber in situ. | |
| 16.9) Control ragwort if necessary. | Throughout compartment. | Spot-spray rosettes with herbicide in spring as required. | Common ragwort is a very important nectar source for a range of invertebrates including the BAP-listed cinnabar moth. |
| 16.10) Control spread of New Zealand pygmyweed. | Throughout compartment. | Trial a number of techniques in several species-poor ponds in 2012. | This invasive species is widespread in ponds on the common and is spread inadvertently by animals and humans on feet. It has a variety of methods of reproduction and regeneration which make it very difficult to control on an open site where livestock, humans and wild animals are present. |