Mixed Scrub BNG Units
Medium
Heathland and shrub
Trusted by Developers and Landowners
What is
Mixed Scrub
Mixed scrub is a habitat of dense or scattered shrubs, typically 1–5 metres tall, composed of a range of native woody species. It often develops as a transitional stage between grassland and woodland, or where land is left unmanaged. Scrub can form mosaics with grassland, woodland edges, or hedgerows, creating valuable structural diversity.
Why It Matters for BNG
Mixed scrub supports birds, pollinators and small mammals. Creating structurally diverse scrub helps deliver moderate to good condition units and strengthens habitat networks.
Allowing scrub to develop where appropriate generates BNG opportunities with minimal intervention. Managing age structure and species mix increases unit value while supporting wildlife.
Where It Is Found
Mixed scrub appears across a wide variety of landscapes, including:
• Grassland margins and pasture edges
• Woodland rides and glades
• Hedgerow expansions and field corners
• Brownfield sites and abandoned land
• Road verges, railway embankments, and quarries
How To Create Mixed Scrub From Scratch
Inputs
• Allow natural regeneration by excluding or reducing grazing and mowing to permit shrub seedlings to establish
• Directly plant or seed a range of native shrubs to speed up development
• Use thorny species such as hawthorn and blackthorn as “nurse shrubs” to provide protection for later colonisers
• Avoid herbicide or fertiliser applications, which suppress shrub establishment and understorey diversity
Management
• Plan for a varied age structure by planting in patches of different sizes and densities
• Retain open ground and grassy patches within new scrub to prevent uniform thickets
• In drier regions, favour drought-tolerant species such as gorse or more resilient provenances of hawthorn
• Where appropriate, coppice or cut back sections to create structural variety and prevent monocultures
Landscape
• Target planting on field corners, slopes, or margins where scrub links other semi-natural habitats
• Position new scrub adjacent to existing hedgerows, woodland, or grassland to create habitat networks
• Use scrub as a buffer strip along watercourses or between farmland and semi-natural habitats
• Plan scrub mosaics that combine dense thickets, scattered bushes, and edges to maximise biodiversity
Target Condition
Mixed Scrub in Good Condition shows:
• A diverse mix of native shrub species, including both thorn and non-thorn types
• Structural variety, with dense thickets, scattered bushes, and open areas
• Evidence of natural regeneration and a healthy understorey
• Functional connections with adjacent habitats
The BNG Value of
Mixed Scrub
• Distinctiveness: Medium
• Condition Potential: High, if structural diversity and species richness are maintained
• Habitat Connectivity: Provides strong links across fragmented landscapes
• Climate Services: Contributes to carbon storage, soil stability, and shelter for livestock
Species Typical of
Mixed Scrub
🌿 Shrubs
• Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
• Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)
• Dog-rose (Rosa canina)
• Bramble (Rubus fruticosus)
• Hazel (Corylus avellana)
• Elder (Sambucus nigra)
• Gorse (Ulex europaeus) on dry sites
🐦 Birds
• Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos)
• Common whitethroat (Curruca communis)
• Linnet (Linaria cannabina)
• Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella)
• Dunnock (Prunella modularis)
🐇Mammals
• European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)
• Hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) [regionally restricted]
• Common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) [bat species using scrub edges]
🐝Invertebrates
• Brown hairstreak (Thecla betulae)
• Numerous pollinators including bumblebees (Bombus spp.) and hoverflies (Syrphidae)
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Mixed Scrub?
A general BNG metric category for areas dominated by a mix of native shrubs and young trees (e.g., Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Willow) that doesn't fit the criteria for a specific, high-value scrub type (like Blackthorn or Gorse Scrub).
How is BNG measured here?
Assessment focuses on the species diversity of the scrub and the associated understorey/ground flora. Condition is based on the structure and extent of non-native species.
How can I achieve BNG?
Enhancement by managing the structure (rotational cutting/coppicing) to provide different age classes of scrub and controlling invasive species. Creation by planting diverse native shrubs.
What is the BNG target condition?
A Good condition often involves a mix of dense and open areas, a diverse shrub species mix, and evidence of ongoing management to prevent it from succeeding fully to woodland.
What management is required?
Rotational cutting or light grazing (where appropriate) to prevent succession to woodland and maintain the open-edge characteristics that benefit insects and birds.
Exploring Other Habitats?
Upland Hay Meadow
Upland hay meadows are species rich grasslands dominated by a mix of fine grasses and abundant herbaceous wildflowers such as sweet vernal-grass, wood crane’s-bill, great burnet, pignut, and lady’s mantles.
These meadows have developed through long term traditional management that combines light grazing with a late summer hay cut. Rare species including lesser butterfly-orchid and burnt orchid are sometimes found.
This habitat is a dense mix of grasses and a wide variety of wildflowers, with no single grass species dominating the vegetation.
Upland Calcareous Grassland
Upland calcareous grassland is a springy, species-rich habitat occurring above approximately 250–300 metres on lime-rich, or “base-rich,” soils. The habitat develops as a short, species rich sward of calcicolous grasses, herbs and orchids adapted to alkaline conditions and cooler upland climates
The grassland appears patchy and open, with fine grasses, colourful herbs and scattered rock outcrops. Wild thyme, common rock rose and bird’s foot trefoil often grow alongside sheep’s fescue and upright brome, creating a varied mosaic.
Upland Acid Grassland
Upland Acid Grassland is a mix of fine grasses, mosses and small herbaceous plants adapted to low pH and limited nutrients. This habitat appears as an open grassy landscape, often dominated by mat grass or purple moor grass. Texture and color come from all patches of tormentil, heath bedstraw and scattered mosses.
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