Protect brownfield or ex-industrial sites in urban areas

Overall effectiveness category Awaiting assessment
Number of studies: 1
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Effectiveness

not assessed
Certainty

not assessed
Harms

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Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Brownfield sites include land that was once used for industrial or other human activity but is then left disused or partially used, for example disused quarries or mines, demolished or derelict factory sites, derelict farm buildings, derelict railways or contaminated land. Natural recolonization of these sites can result in valuable habitats for wildlife and provide migration corridors in built-up or disturbed areas.

Study locations

Key messages

One study evaluated the effects of protecting brownfield or ex-industrial sites in urban areas. This study was in the UK.

COMMUNITY RESPONSE (0 STUDIES)

POPULATION RESPONSE (0 STUDIES)

BEHAVIOUR (1 STUDY)

Use (1 study): One study in the UK reported that an ex-industrial site that was protected was occupied by up to four species of reptiles.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A study in 2005 in an area of mixed ponds, grassland and scrub in Peterborough, UK (Langton 2006) found that following protection of an ex-industrial site, the area was occupied by grass snakes Natrix helvetica and common lizards Zootoca vivipara. A total of 87 grass snakes and 76 common lizards were recorded at the site. Authors reported that adders Vipera berus and slow worms Anguis fragilis were also present at the site (no data provided). In the 1940s to the late 1990s, the area was used for clay extraction for brick making, resulting in a landscape characterised by a series of ridges and furrows. In 1995, part of the site was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and in 2005 it was designated as a Special Area of Conservation. Authors reported that a range of habitat and species management activities were carried out on the site, including controlling scrub, construction of artificial refuges and releases of grass snakes and common lizards. In 2005, reptile surveys were conducted by placing 90 corrugated iron refugia (1 m²) throughout vegetated locations on the site. Refugia were visited 22 times (roughly weekly visits) and all reptiles were counted.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Langton T. (2006) Western periphery road stages 2 & 3, Hampton, Peterborough. Herpetofauna Consultants International Ltd. report, for O+H Hampton Ltd.

Please cite as:

Sainsbury K.A., Morgan W.H., Watson M., Rotem G., Bouskila A., Smith R.K. & Sutherland W.J. (2021) Reptile Conservation: Global Evidence for the Effects of Interventions for reptiles. Conservation Evidence Series Synopsis. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Reptile Conservation

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Category
Protect greenfield sites or undeveloped land in urban areas Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	Synopsis Link
Provide training for construction workers on the potential risks to reptiles and how to mitigate disturbance during works Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	Synopsis Link
Plant native species for reptile habitat in urban areas Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	Synopsis Link