Knapp and Knowle

Ancient Hedgerows:
Hedgerows that are typically very old, often having been in existence for several centuries. They are valuable habitats, providing shelter, food, and corridors for a wide range of wildlife, including rare species.

AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty):
A designated area in the UK that is protected by law to conserve and enhance its natural beauty.

Australian Swamp Stonecrop (Crassula helmsii):
A highly invasive aquatic plant in the UK that can rapidly out compete native species and is illegal to remove without a license.

Biodiversity Network Area:
A collection of geographically proximate and often contiguous sites that, despite potential human-made separations, function as a connected system, allowing wildlife to move freely and enhancing overall biodiversity.

Brownfield Site:
Land that has been previously developed, often for industrial or commercial purposes, but is now disused and available for redevelopment. In some cases, like Sidmouth Cemetery, long undisturbed brownfield areas can recover natural habitat.

Calcareous Grassland:
Grassland that grows on alkaline, lime-rich soils. It is often species-rich but the text notes that in this cluster, such plants are not uniquely tied to calcareous soils.

Community Orchard:
An area where fruit trees (e.g., apple, pear, plum) are grown, often with community involvement in their planting, maintenance, and harvesting, providing habitat and food sources.

Contiguous:
Sharing a common border or edge; touching. Used to describe the close proximity of the sites in the Knapp and Knowle cluster.

Cultivated and Disturbed Land:
Areas that have been tilled, dug, or otherwise altered by human activity, often leading to the establishment of specific "weeds of cultivation" or garden escapees.

EDDC (East Devon District Council):
A local government body responsible for various services, including the management of some sites within the cluster, such as Sidmouth Cemetery.

Flora:
The plants of a particular region, habitat, or geological period.

Fauna: The animals of a particular region, habitat, or geological period.

Floral Diversity:
The variety of different flowering plant species within a given area.

Fungi and Lichen:
Fungi are a kingdom of organisms distinct from plants and animals, playing crucial roles as decomposers. Lichens are symbiotic organisms composed of fungi and algae or cyanobacteria, often found on trees and gravestones.

"Fuzzy Edges":
Refers to transitional zones or ecotones between different habitats (e.g., grassland meeting woodland), which are often rich in biodiversity as they offer a mix of resources and conditions.

Green Highway:
A term used to describe linear features, such as hedgerows, that provide safe routes and foraging grounds for wildlife, especially bats, allowing them to move between fragmented habitats.

Habitat:
The natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.

Improved Grassland:
Grassland that has been "improved" for agricultural purposes, typically through fertilization and reseeding with productive grasses, leading to a reduction in native wildflower diversity.

Indicator Species:
A species whose presence, absence, or abundance can indicate certain environmental conditions, such as the age of grassland (e.g., waxcap fungi, Yellow Rattle).

Invasive Species:
A non-native species whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. Examples include Australian Swamp Stonecrop and Three-Cornered Leek.

iNaturalist:
An online social network of naturalists, citizen scientists, and biologists built on the concept of mapping and sharing observations of biodiversity across the globe.

Micro-habitat:
A small, specific habitat within a larger one, offering unique conditions that allow particular species to thrive (e.g., ant hills providing a distinct environment).

Mosaic of Different Habitats:
A landscape composed of various distinct habitat types situated closely together, increasing overall biodiversity by offering diverse niches.

Neutral Grassland:
Grassland that grows on soils with a neutral pH, supporting a particular range of plant species.

Niche Habitats:
Specific, often small or unique, environmental conditions or roles that a species plays within an ecosystem.

Parkland and Scattered Trees:
A habitat type characterised by individual mature trees or small groups of trees scattered within an open grassland or cultivated area, often remnants of old estates.

Pollinators:
Animals, typically insects like bees and butterflies, that transfer pollen from one flower to another, enabling plant reproduction.

Rhizomes:
Underground horizontal plant stems that can produce new shoots and roots, allowing plants to spread vegetatively (e.g., Yellow Flag Iris, Australian Swamp Stonecrop).

Semi-improved Grassland:
Grassland that has undergone some agricultural modification (e.g., light fertilisation or grazing) but still retains a reasonable level of natural biodiversity compared to fully "improved" grassland.

Sid Vale Association (SVA):
A local organisation that owns and manages several of the sites within the cluster, such as The Knapp and Peaslands Knapp, often relying on volunteer efforts for conservation.

Sidmouth Arboretum:
An initiative established in 2010 to celebrate and preserve the town's diverse tree heritage, mapping and recording significant trees.

Species-rich:
An area or habitat that supports a large number of different species, indicating high biodiversity.

Stridulating:
The act of producing sound by rubbing body parts together, characteristic of insects like grasshoppers and crickets.

Umbellifer Flower Species:
Plants belonging to the carrot family (Apiaceae), characterised by their umbrella-shaped flower clusters (umbels), which are important food sources for many insects.

Uncultivated Grassland:
Grassland that has not been ploughed or reseeded, often on steep hillsides, and is considered very rare and valuable for its diverse native flora.

Vegetatively (grow vegetatively):
A form of asexual reproduction in plants, where new plants grow from fragments of the parent plant, such as stems or roots, without seeds or spores.

Water Margin:
The edge of a body of water, providing a specific habitat for plants adapted to damp or aquatic conditions.

Waxcap Fungi:
A group of colourful fungi often found in unimproved grasslands, considered indicator species of old, nutrient-poor, and undisturbed grassland habitats.

Wet Grassland:
Grassland areas that are regularly damp or waterlogged, supporting specialist plant species adapted to such conditions.

Yellow Meadow Ant Hills:
Large mounds created by Yellow Meadow Ants (Lasius flavus), which excavate soil from underground, creating a unique micro-habitat on their surfaces.