Urban & Brownfield Ecosystem

The group is no longer active and information on this page is not current and is for reference purposes only.

This is the information page for the WBP Urban and Brownfield Ecosystem Group. The Urban and Brownfield Ecosystem Group activities relate to the following Section 7 priority habitat in Wales: Open Mosaic Habitats on Previously Developed Land.

The priority habitat in urban settings is referred to as Open Mosaic Habitat on Previously Developed Land (OMH). OMH occurs on sites that have been previously developed or within which the ground has been disturbed. It is characterised by a patchy appearance with some vegetation and varying amounts of bare ground. It is concentrated in urban and former industrial landscapes, but also occurs outside of these areas in quarries, railway sidings, etc. It is threatened by destruction and degradation due to redevelopment, conversion to landfill, eutrophication, inappropriate management or 'restoration' and natural succession. Few OMH sites are protected as SSSIs or nature reserves.

This habitat maintains populations of nationally scarce invertebrates and lower plants. Importantly, it offers opportunities to study ecological succession which are extremely rare in the Welsh countryside, and it also gives many city and town dwellers their first chance to experience nature at first hand