7/29/2019 Wildlife News feature: Wildlife-rich grassland
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Oxeye daisy, yellow rattle and knapweed, just afew of the flowers found in wildlife-rich grassland.(Stephen Dalton/naturepl.com)
7/29/2019 Wildlife News feature: Wildlife-rich grassland
2/4April 2011 9
The green,
green grassFor many of us grass is a smart garden lawn but forwildlife it is a precious habitat that we are losing fast.Wildlife News gives the lowdown on grasslands andwhy the Trust is putting huge efforts into saving them,thanks to your support.
rom beneath the earth to the tips of
the tallest flower, wildlife-rich
grasslands support an incredible
diversity of life. On a June day with the sun
blazing, a Wildlife Trust grassland cannot be
beaten for sheer colour and atmosphere
and the variety of butterflies you are likely
to see flitting from one flower to the next.
Yet before the Second World War you didnt
have to head to a nature reserve to
experience this special place; swathes of
flower-rich grassland stretched across thecountryside and played a central part in the
daily lives of local people. Grasslands
managed in harmony with wildlife not only
provided food for livestock and
consequently meat and dairy produce for
local people, but flowers and herbs
provided food and medicinal remedies too.
The threatsToday the majority of the grasslands that
you will pass by on your travels in Berks,
Bucks and Oxon will be improved. That is,they have been improved from an
agricultural perspective. These green
grasslands are mainly managed for food for
livestock, to be grazed, cut or ploughed up
for crops. To give the vigorous grasses a
competitive edge farmers use fertilisers.
The more fertiliser that is used, the fewer
grass species, at the expense of the soil and
other plants. These bright green grasslands
are of little or no benefit to wildlife.
A shocking 97 per cent of our colourful
and varied wildflower meadows in the UK
have been destroyed in the last 75 years.
Intensive farming methods coupled with
development have contributed to the loss.
Most surviving sites occur as isolated
patches typically smaller than two hectares
(or five acres), surrounded by heavily farmed
monoculture and fertilised land or urban
areas. This has had a dramatic impact on the
wildlife dependent on grasslands that
cannot move easily from one patch to
another. Our populations of butterflies, bees
and farmland birds are at an all-time low.
Teeming with lifeIn stark contrast to the uniformity of
improved grassland, there are many
varieties of wildlife-rich grassland in amyriad of colours besides green. The soil is
alive and home to a complex community of
plants that provide food and shelter for
insects, spiders, mammals and birds. And
depending on where the grassland is,
unique communities of plants have evolved
that support specialist species, often unable
to live anywhere else.
The Trust is passionate about halting the
decline of our wildlife-rich grasslands.
Through a number of projects and our
Living Landscape work we are focusing ourefforts to protect, restore and link these
precious patches on our nature reserves
and through the wider countryside, in
partnership with other landowners.
The different breeds:
F
5-spot burnet moth(PeterCreed)
7/29/2019 Wildlife News feature: Wildlife-rich grassland
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Know your grasslands
There are three main types of wildlifegrassland, known in the conservation
world as calcareous, neutral and acid.
Within each group you will find different
plants and flowers depending on the soil,
geology, hydrology, climate and, of
course, how a site is managed
Close to the ground
Calcareous grassland is now often foundonly on steep slopes and the small and
awkward-to-reach sites that have been
their saving grace, since they have
escaped the plough. The soil is poor and
thin, generally free-draining so usually
very dry in the summer months. These
conditions are perfect for low-growing
flowers such as marjoram, thyme, vetches
and fairy flax, delicate flowers you will
need to get down on your hands and
knees to enjoy.
In our three counties these grasslands
are mainly located on chalk in the
Chilterns in Bucks and Oxon (Aston
Clinton Ragpits and Hartslock) and on
the Berkshire Downs (Seven Barrows).
The Trust manages this type of
grassland with regular scrub cutting and
controlled grazing using our roving flock
of hardy sheep and, occasionally, cattle.
Grazing is relaxed during flowering in
spring and summer, heralded in April
by the emergence of primroses and
cowslips food plants for colonies of the
rare Duke of Burgundy butterfly. They arelater replaced by fragrant orchids and the
sun-yellow clusters of trefoils. These
flowers are important sources of nectar for
chalk grassland butterflies such as the
chalkhill blue and small blue. Once
flowering is over grazing will take place tokeep down invasive scrub and more
vigorous coarse grasses such as cocks-
foot.
Recognising the importance of our
chalk grasslands in 2010, the Trust
launched a three-year Chilterns Chalk
Grassland Project. With extra funding and
resources we are restoring and expanding
the habitat on 12 BBOWT nature reserves
in Bucks and Oxon. For instance, at
Warburg and Chinnor Hill in Oxon we are
tackling areas of scrub and trees that have
encroached over the years with the use of
an intrepid Alpine tractor, and at
Dancersend in Bucks we are re-seeding
improved grassland so that fine grasses
and herbs can re-colonise. At other
reserves, including Dancersend (Bucks)
and Hartslock(Oxon), we run our
livestock across neighbouring land on the
landowners behalf to help to extend
grassland habitat.
Away from the Chilterns, we also care
for limestone grassland including Dry
Sandford Pit, Sydlings Copse and GlymeValley (all in Oxon). Hairy violet, common
rockrose, woolly thistle and wild liquorice
are amongst the typical plants you can
find there.
The green, green grass
Chalkhill blue(David Kjaer)
Calcareous grassland Neutral grassland
A healthy species-rich grassland supportsa host of wildlife including mammals, likethe harvest mouse, and birds of prey.(Andy Sands/naturepl.com)
(PeterCreed)
(BBOWT)
7/29/2019 Wildlife News feature: Wildlife-rich grassland
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A flush of taller flowers
In contrast to chalk and limestone, neutralgrassland plants like to sink their roots into
deeper soil and reach for the sky with their
flowers. In our three counties we have a
nationally significant proportion of
unspoilt neutral grassland: the meadows at
Chimney Meadows in Oxon and Upper
RayMeadows in Bucks make up one of
Englands largest remaining areas of this
habitat.
By June on neutral grasslands a riot of
colour has erupted with oxeye daisy,
purple knapweed, yellow rattle, and on
wetter sites, wine-red great burnet. These
nectar-rich flowers are a haven for
butterflies including gatekeeper and
marbled white as well as day-flying moths.
Skylark and birds of prey find easy pickings
here and increasingly scarce wading birds,
such as curlew and snipe, can take up
residence to breed or overwinter.
Most of these flower-festooned
meadows have come into being through
centuries of traditional hay making
followed by livestock grazing. The Trust
either manages these grasslands as haymeadows or pastures, depending on how
accessible the sites are and how they have
been looked after historically. Hay
meadows, including those at Chimney
Tiger beetle(Lucinda Creed)
Barn owl(David Kjaer)
Meadows, are cut in mid-July: by taking
the grass off, nutrients are taken out andthe resulting low fertility gives flowers the
competitive edge. The cut is followed by
aftermath grazing to keep down all the
tough grasses that have shot up in late
summer. In November, before the site
becomes too wet, the livestock are
removed. Our pastures, such as Inkpen
Crocus Field in Berks, will only be grazed,
rather than cut. Usually before Christmas,
long before the flowering season begins,
livestock are removed from all BBOWT
wildlife-rich grasslands so that by spring
and summer wildlife and visitors can enjoy
a flush of flowers.
Part of a heathland mixThe third type of wildlife-rich grassland,
acid grassland, is uncommon in the three
counties, most of it is in Berkshire in
fragments within heathland mosaics such
as Inkpen Common near Newbury.
Generally found on free-draining soil,
these grasslands are prone to parching in
the hotter months. Here you will find
fewer varieties of plant and it is the bare,exposed soil in-between the vegetation
that also attracts wildlife, including
basking reptiles, beetles and burrowing
wasps and bees.
Acid grassland
Can you help our grasslands?We need to raise 45,000 to completeour Chilterns Chalk Grassland Project.If you can help please contact ourfundraising manager on 01865 775476or email [email protected] are grateful to WREN, ChilternsConservation Board, Natural Englandand a number of individuals who havealready supported this work.
Join us for...
A guided walk to enjoy chalkgrassland wild flowers and butterflieson Sunday 8 May2.154pm inPrinces Risborough, Bucks. See yourWildlife Diaryfor details.
At Greenham Common, as part of our
West Berkshire Living Landscape work,the Trust manages this habitat through
grazing and cutting of scrub and gorse.
Looking aheadAs well as our work in the countryside we
are caring for grasslands running through
Oxford. In partnership with other
conservation organisations, such as
Oxford Preservation Trust, we are working
to protect and manage these habitats on
the doorsteps of thousands of city
dwellers for wildlife and people.
(PeterCreed)
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