Wildlife News feature: Wildlife-rich grassland

7/29/2019 Wildlife News feature: Wildlife-rich grassland

1/48 Wildlife news

Oxeye daisy, yellow rattle and knapweed, just afew of the flowers found in wildlife-rich grassland.(Stephen Dalton/naturepl.com)


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)


3/410 Wildlife news

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)


4/4April 2011 11

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)

Documents

Wildlife News feature: Wildlife-rich grassland