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Priority habitats in the East Midlands

Many key habitat areas in the East Midlands have become much smaller in size or patchy over recent decades, but still provide more than 10% of the country's total. The main kinds of priority habitats in the region include the following:

Lowland hay meadows

support key wildlife species including birds, such as the Corncrake and Skylark, mammals such as the Brown Hare, insects such as the Short-haired Bumble Bee and rare plants such as the Fritillary, Dyer's Greenweed and Green-winged Orchid. Important lowland meadow sites in the East Midlands are found in Lincolnshire, lowland Derbyshire and the Peak District.

Lowland wood pasture and parkland

are habitats are created by historic land management, but many areas have been cleared for more recent development. Priority species associated with this habitat in the East Midlands include the pipistrelle bat, bullfinch, high brown fritillary, stag beetle and orange fruited elm lichen. Important sites in the region include include the Peak District, Coal Measures (Derbyshire), Sherwood (Nottinghamshire), Charwood (Leicestershire), Midland Clay Pastures and Rockingham Forest (Northamptonshire).

Saltmarshes

are important coastal habitats for birds, including gulls, terns, wild ducks and geese, and for invertebrates that inhabit transitional areas of fresh and brackish waters. They are also an important habitat for the Natterjack Toad. Saltmarsh areas of The Wash in Lincolnshire make up a large proportion of England's total saltmarsh resource.

Mudflats

provide an internationally important habitat for large number of migrant and wintering waterfowl, predatory birds and fish. They also support a large number of other organisms such as molluscs and worms and protect neighbouring saltmarshes from erosion. The main area of mudflats in the region is in The Wash, Lincolnshire.

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