How native breeds 'restore and protect' landscapes

Reintroducing native grazing breeds to landscapes can have multiple benefits, including reducing the risk of wildfires, according to Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.

Ten Highland cattle and eight Exmoor ponies are being introduced to the Trent Valley in Derbyshire as part of a rewilding project intended to restore habitats and increase biodiversity.

The hope is their behaviour will mimic that of their ancestors, such as aurochs, elk and wild horses, creating so-called "mosaic landscapes" where wildlife can thrive.

While the area has not been affected by recent wildfires, the trust says the animals' grazing habits can help create natural fire breaks in places more at risk.

The project has been kickstarted with almost £330,000 in funding from the National Highways "Network for Nature" programme.

Wilder grazing assistant Alex Fisher works alongside 11 trained volunteers to acclimatise the new additions to their handlers before they are allowed to roam free.

It has taken almost a year for the Exmoor ponies to become comfortable with approaching humans.

Mr Fisher says he has to tread a fine line between getting the animals accustomed to being handled, while making sure they remain self-sufficient.

"These are the perfect lawnmowers," he says. "They know exactly which type of vegetation to eat and graze from."

As an example, he points out that their current field is still covered in buttercups, which the ponies dislike.

Unlike domesticated cattle, they nibble the grass short while leaving the roots and soil intact. And they benefit nature from both ends.

"We don't give them any medication or supplementary feed," Mr Fisher says. "That would come through in their faeces and kill small insects like the dung beetle, which can help heal nature."

The ponies had no problem coping with snow on the ground last winter.

"They used the hooves to pull back the snow and graze the vegetation. We were really happy with how they were over winter."

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust's Living Landscape Officer Katie Last watched this year's record-breaking wildfires with dismay.

She agrees with Met Office scientists who say the changing climate is increasing the risk of fires, and says restoring landscapes with the aid of native breeds can help.

"Large grazing herbivores can help create a resilient landscape to wildfires," she says.

"The trampling and the grazing of vegetation will remove the existing fuel for the fires, and also [it] creates those open gaps and areas of bare ground that will stop the spread of wildfires."

But she says that is just one of the many benefits we gain from introducing large herbivores as part of rewilding projects.

"The way that they manage our grasslands, they're much better at capturing carbon in the ground. They don't overgraze, which gives the soil time to regenerate."

Ms Last says because the cattle and ponies graze at different levels, they also remove vegetation and encourage regrowth, which in turn keeps more carbon in the soil.

In the past the cattle and ponies would have moved naturally through landscapes as they were hunted by predators such as lynx and wolves.

Now the Trust uses GPS collars and geo-fencing to train the Highland cattle and keep them moving.

"We'd like to see our grazing expanded across the whole of Derbyshire," says Ms Last. "[These breeds] are ecosystem engineers. They create fantastic, diverse mosaic habitat which boosts wildlife and creates a resilient eco-system overall."

The project is part of wider moves by Wildlife Trusts to reintroduce missing species to benefit nature.

Follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.