Coastal grasslandsA management guide

A management guide2 Coastal Grasslands 3

Management recommendations for coastal grasslands – a summary• Use traditional grazing patterns and timings for cattle and sheep:

these optimal grazing regimes retain cattle and sheep grazing in winter with exclusions during the summer flowering season (roughly May – September).

• Choiceoflivestock: both cattle and sheep can be used to maintain highly diverse grassland, as long as they remove coarse grasses. On the mainland, winter grazing by deer can have a similar effect.

• Rabbitcontrol: this is vital to ensure flowering and seed success as well as limiting erosion. The problem with rabbits is generally that there are too many of them to allow plants to flower and set seed.

• Flexiblelandmanagement: conservation management agreements and land management prescriptions need to be flexible enough to deliver appropriate management for habitat mosaics in coastal grasslands. For example, short grazing exclusions on their own can be inadequate to create appropriate conditions.

• Haymaking,haylageandsilage: haymaking and conservation of coastal grassland plant populations are generally incompatible.

• Woodlandplanting:woodland regeneration and planting schemes are detrimental to coastal and machair grassland.

• Pesticidesshouldnotbeused: in these delicate habitats, pesticide application upsets the balance of plants and insects.

• Artificialfertilisershouldnotbeused:these habitats depend on low fertility levels with mineral enrichment from sea spray and sand blow, and seaweed application in cropped machair.

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Scotland’s coastline is made up of a unique collection of habitats, all influenced by proximity to the sea. Coastal, or maritime, grasslands are particularly important for the wildlife they support and are home to a number of very rare plants.

There are two particularly important types of coastal grasslands:

The pastures of the machair of the west and Western IslesThe grasslands of Scotland’s north coast, Orkney and Shetland

What is coastal grassland?

5A management guide4 Coastal Grasslands

The pastures of the machair of the west and Western Isles

The grasslands of Scotland’s north coast, Orkney and Shetland

Machair is one of Europe’s rarest habitats. The plants that characterise machair are not unusually rare themselves; rather it is the diversity of fl owering plants that make it so special. A typical patch of machair is surprisingly rich and may have up to 45 species per metre square. Scotland’s machair is a unique landscape made up of a mosaic of different habitats, including beach, marshes, lochs and, of course, coastal pasture.

These grasslands change colour as the season’s progress. In early spring, white is dominant with daisies, eyebrights and bedstraws. In June, yellow is dominant

with buttercups, vetches, bird’s foot trefoil and lady’s bedstraw. Later in the summer, the purples of wild thyme, red clover, ragged robin, self heal and even fi eld scabious and autumn gentian dominate.

Of the rarer species, the most celebrated are orchids. Pyramidal and fragrant orchids can be found in machair, along with lesser butterfl y orchids and frog orchids. The machair on North Uist has its own type of marsh orchid, the very rare Hebridean marsh orchid (Dactylorhiza ebudensis). Another rare orchid, found in the pasture and hay meadows, is Irish lady’s tresses (Spiranthes romanzoffi ana).

Coastal grasslands along the north coast and on Orkney can be home to up to ten fl owers per metre square, including a number of different eyebrights, some of which are extremely rare, as well as mountain avens, thyme broomrape and purple oxytropis. Rarer species, such as Scottish primrose (Primula scotia) can also be found in here.

These grasslands are characterised by an extremely short turf, maintained along

the cliff tops and behind sand dunes by exposure to the sea and by grazing. The land is managed by small-scale crofters, who use the grasslands to raise mainly sheep. Coastal grasslands also form a signifi cant component of the MoD fi ring range at Cape Wrath, which again is managed as if it were crofting land. The extreme conditions create a series of micro habitats for a diversity of fl owers to thrive.

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Machair at Eoropie, Lewis, below

Grassland with northern marsh-orchid Dactylorhiza purpurea, Orkney

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ThreatstokeyplantsScotland’scoastalcommunitieshavebeenfarmingtheland adjacent to the sea for thousands of years. It is a system dependent on low-intensity farming and its future depends on appropriate management. There are fivemainthreats:

1 Decline in traditional managementCattle and sheep grazing, where animals are removed in late spring and returned in autumn, is extremely important to coastal grasslands. Abandoning such management is the key threat to these habitats.

Without seasonal grazing, the grassland habitats tend to become less species rich as micro habitats close up. This means fewer opportunities for the rarer species to seed or spread.

Winter grazing is an effective way to control the spread of competitive grasses and rushes which outcompete many of the more distinctive grassland fl owers. Both cattle and sheep can be used in these habitats.

3 RabbitsOther grazing animals, especially rabbits, are much less suitable for the long-term maintenance of coastal grassland. Over-grazing and burrowing by rabbits can result in increased erosion and allows species such as ragwort to become more dominant.

5 Climate changeOur changing climate is resulting in rising sea levels and increases in storm intensity and frequency. The resulting coastal erosion is squeezing the space for coastal grasslands.

2 IntensificationDeclining numbers of people involved in traditional grazing has led to reduced use of hill ground in the summer months.

In some cases this results in coastal areas being used more during the summer when historically they were saved for the winter months. This means the plants have fewer opportunities for fl owering and there is a resulting loss of diversity.

4 Damage to offshorekelpbedsThe fi rst defence of low-lying coastal grasslands is out at sea where kelp beds act as a buffer against winter storms.

Kelp is also important as a fertiliser for the fi elds in machair areas, so is crucial for the maintenance of the habitat. While commercial development of kelp beds remains a low risk, any future exploitation should carefully weigh the impact of kelp removal against the protection it provides for dunes and fi eld systems.

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Kidney vetch in machair, North Uist, Outer Hebrides. More intense and frequent storms, and rising sea levels caused by climate change, threaten such rare coastal grasslands

NEED HI_RESLaurie Campbell

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Management recommendationsManagement of the different coastal grasslands to maintainthediversityofwildflowersreliesinlargepartonmanaginggrazinglevels.

4 RabbitcontrolGrazing control during fl owering periods should ideally include rabbit control too. The potential for seed production in Irish lady’s tresses, for example, is being severely curtailed by rabbits removing fl owering spikes.

1 Grazing patternsTraditional grazing regimes use cattle and/or sheep to maximise fl owering success. This means grazing in winter with short exclusions during the summer to allow plants to fl ower and set seed (roughly May - September).

Heavy grazing in the autumn is important as it removes the year’s crop of grasses and herbs. Ideally this should take place from September when the grasses and herbs are still nutritious. Lighter grazing until April produces the ideal conditions for many plants to survive in healthy populations.

Grazing patterns might need to be tweaked depending on the species targeted for conservation. Some sites with lesser butterfl y orchids, for example, can be successfully managed as part of a farm grazing regime that removes rank vegetation in autumn and winter. During fl owering periods in June, July and August, many of

3 WinterpoachingWinter poaching (trampling of the ground by livestock) can be useful in preparing the ground for good spring growing conditions. This is because it can control competitive grasses and herbs, and produce open conditions for seeding and/or vegetative spread.

these sites have moderate levels of grazing. Other nearby species may be more palatable, which means that orchids are not necessarily eaten by grazing animals.

2 ChoiceoflivestockAny grazing animal is appropriate, as long as they remove large quantities of coarse grasses. Some mainland sites are winter grazed by deer.

Heavy grazing must, however, be avoided in summer to allow fl owering. As a general rule, sheep are more effective grazers in habitats that depend on low levels of nutrients, while cattle are better in more fertile habitats.

Using native breeds of cattle and sheep is to be encouraged, as some other breeds struggle to maintain body condition on these pastures.

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Any grazing animal is suitable for helping maintain coastal grasslands, though sheep are more effective in habitats with low nutrient levels

NEED HI_RESLaurie Campbell

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10 Coastal Grasslands 11A management guide

5 FlexiblelandmanagementConservation management agreements and land management prescriptions need to be flexible to deliver appropriate management for the habitat mosaics within coastal grasslands.

See case studies below and opposite for examples of land management issues and possible solutions.

ConservationmanagementagreementsA one-size-fits-all approach to species-rich grassland management does not suit the rarer plants of grasslands. Problems can occur where conservation agreements are targeted at species that require differing levels of grazing.

Several sites on Coll and around Loch Fada, on Colonsay, are under corncrake management, which requires an extended grazing break during summer months and results in a much taller sward. This is less-than-ideal for Irish lady’s tresses (right), which cannot compete with the taller grasses, and population numbers of this beautiful orchid are falling.

The best solution in these circumstances is to manage one area for Irish lady’s tresses with a summer grazing regime (see “Grazing patterns”, page 8) and manage adjacent areas of the same site for corncrake. In other words one management approach doesn’t fit all.

Plantlife visited five sites with conservation management agreements specifying grazing levels and exclusion periods, yet only one was being managed successfully for lesser butterfly orchid. This success was linked to three factors:

• Thegrazingexclusionperiodwas short enough to cover flowering of this species only;

• Grazinglevelswerehighenough to maintain a short sward;

• Themanagementregimewasspecifically targeted at this species.

Equally, the desire to meet cross-compliance measures can cause problems. For example, in some cases winter cattle grazing is restricted to limit poaching of the soil, which is often seen as undesirable. As a result, suitable habitat conditions for

Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) prescriptions tend to result in rigid management regimes that cannot be used to manage a mosaic of habitats and deliver a range of rare species habitat needs. Well-managed sites benefit from being part of more extensive grazing regimes. These are more flexible and enable farmers and crofters to move

Case study: Irish lady’s tresses

Case study: Lesser butterfly orchid

animals from site to site, providing appropriate site management.

Such traditional practices achieve substantial environmental benefit, but are not currently financially attractive to farmers and crofters. They would be however, if supported by agri-environment schemes with more grazing flexibility built into them.

Landmanagementsupportedby agri-environmentschemefunding

Management recommendations

lesser butterfly orchid are not maintained. It’s also worth noting that winter sheep grazing tends not to be suitable for lesser butterfly orchid. Unless grazing begins in early autumn, winter sheep grazing tends to trample vegetation but not remove it.

12 Coastal Grasslands 13A management guide

Many good nature conservation sites are relatively poor pasture and farmers cannot always leave out livestock long enough to remove rank vegetation because the animals lose condition.

However, standard practice at designated sites include restrictions on supplementary feeding in order to avoid nutrient increase and the introduction of non-native seeds from hay or silage.

While as a general rule supplementary feeding on nature conservation sites should be avoided, in some circumstances, relaxing rules on supplementary feeding enables farmers to graze for longer to the benefi t of habitats. Supplementary feeding could, for example, be through a “concentrates only” system.

Take Loft on Orkney. Here, protein feed blocks containing urea are used on hay fi elds in late winter. These help animals to digest roughage and allow sheep to increase their intake of rank vegetation. Protein feed blocks for sheep have enabled the farmer to encourage grazing in rank, under-used areas, using the position of the block to move sheep, and the subsequent trampling impact, to where it is needed.

Using concentrate feed for pregnant ewes on hay fi elds in late winter results in a fl oristically diverse hay meadow with no artifi cial fertiliser, which is applied instead through dung. Any nitrogen from these winter feeds is partially leached before the spring growth can use it, so the effects on the pasture are minimal.

7 Haymakingandcropping timesHaymaking is not recommended for rare coastal grassland species, such as Irish lady’s tresses or lesser butterfl y orchid. Only one site we visited was being managed successfully for lesser butterfl y orchid through haymaking. The quality of the hay was poor and did not produce a viable crop.

There is not enough information on the impact of cultivation on these species, but it would be prudent to presume against cultivation.

8 Protectionfromnewwoodland plantingsRare plants of coastal grasslands rely on open conditions. The presence of rare and interesting species such as lesser butterfl y orchid and Irish lady’s tresses should be a material consideration in planning woodland regeneration schemes. Even where the site is left as open ground, the total exclusion of grazing animals results in rank vegetation smothering rare and interesting species.

9 MonitoringThere is an urgent need to continue monitoring how plants react to changing management practices. Monitoring needs to include sward height measurements in early June and early September, and the number of fl ower spikes produced. Plantlife works with volunteers, known as Flora Guardians, monitoring Irish lady’s tresses and lesser butterfl y orchid.

If you’re interested, please email us at scotland@plantlife.org.uk or phone 01786 478509.

6 Supplementary feeding to maintain appropriate grazinglevelsondesignatedsites

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Management recommendations

Cows grazing, Orkney. It’s worth considering supplementary feeding because this helps keep animals in good condition and means they can graze later in the year. This helps to control rank vegetation

15A management guide14 Coastal Grasslands

Typical species on coastal grasslandRegularly occurring species

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Scarlet pimpernel Anagallis arvensis Storksbill Erodium cicutarium Thyme Thymus praecox Frog orchid Coeleglossum viride

Lady’s bedstraw Galium verum Bird’s foot trefoil Lotus corniculatus Adder’s tongue fern Ophioglossum vulgatum Self heal Prunella vulgaris

A management guide16 Coastal Grasslands 17

Typical species on coastal grasslandRare species

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Pyramidal orchid Anacamptis pyramidalisHebridean spotted orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsia subsp hebridensis

Opposite page (clockwise from top left)

Spring squill Scilla vernaScottish primrose Primula scoticaIrish lady’s tresses Spiranthes romanzoffi ana

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Photo opposite page ©Laurie Campbell

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Highland cows: using native breeds to graze coastal pastures is recommended as other breeds might struggle to stay in condition on these pastures

NEED HI_RESLaurie Campbellhighlandcow211d

ReferencesMachair and Coastal Pasture: managing priority habitats for native plants and the signifi cance of grazing practices, by Dr Deborah Long, The Glasgow Naturalist (2009) volume 25, supplement.

Machair Conservation: successes and challenges. www.gnhs.org.uk/publications.html

Looking after Rare Mosses and Liverworts in Coastal Dune Slacks (2003) by David Holyoak. www.plantlife.org.uk

And on that Farm He Had: Scotland farmland report (2013) by Dr Deborah Long and Davie Black.www.plantlife.org.uk

ContactsPlantlife: www.plantlife.org.uk

Scottish Natural Heritage: www.snh.gov.uk

Scottish Rural Development Programme: www.scotland.gov.uk/topics/farmingrural/SRDP

Scotland’s Rural College: www.sruc.ac.uk.

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