A FARM on The Lizard peninsula – the first site to be surveyed for its wildlife importance by the National Trust in June 1979 – has been revisited 30 years to the day to see what has changed.

During the last three decades the National Trust's biosurvey team – which is thought to be the longest serving of its kind and currently consists of a plant ecologist, two animal ecologists and mapping specialist – has visited over 1,000 sites.

In this time it has mapped more than 230,000 hectares of land, recorded more than 15,000 different species of plants and animals, producing reports that cover 93% of National Trust land.

Benchmark

Dr David Bullock, head of nature conservation at the National Trust, said the team provided a benchmark so that the Trust can better understand how to manage sites to enhance their wildlife value.

"The last 30 years, since the first survey in Cornwall, has been one of continual change – with farming becoming more focused on encouraging wildlife – and the realities of changes in our climate which will see wildlife winners and losers."

Lower Predannack farm (70 hectares), a coastal site near Mullion, was the first farm on National Trust land to have nature conservation clauses – which focus on improving habitats for the benefit of wildlife - in the tenancy agreement.

Perhaps the most significant change on this farm, which is reflected in the bigger picture across the National Trust, is the move away from arable land to grassland.

This general trend towards less intensive land use, supported by agri-environment schemes, means that bees, butterflies and fungi should begin to flourish again across many sites.

Another important change in the last 30 years has been the reintroduction of cattle to graze the cliffs and heathland surrounding Lower Predannack farm.

A small herd of National Trust Dexter cattle, which are well suited to the area, and some cattle from a tenant farm, have successfully helped to restore many of the flower rich coastal grassland.

As a result, common and rare plants on the Lizard have flourished and spread to new sites. Green winged orchids, with their bold colourful flowers, have benefited from less long grass, and the land quillwort, a plant at its northern limit and normally found in the Mediterranean, has been recorded at new sites.

Rare clovers only found on The Lizard, such as the upright clover and long-headed clover, can now be seen in much greater numbers than 1979.

Chough

Grazing has also played a key role in the success story of the chough, an iconic bird for Cornwall, returning.

With mild winters and cool summers The Lizard Peninsula has a fairly stable climate allowing rare plants to flourish and frogs have been breeding before Christmas since the early 1980s.

Data and maps are produced by the biosurvey team, which indicate the quality of habitat, helping to contribute to the future management of National Trust land.

Katherine Hearn, a member of the original survey team in 1979 and now a trust nature conservation adviser, said: "We can see at Lower Predannack Farm that 30 years of positive change has made a real difference, as nature along this beautiful stretch has thrived."