Beautiful meadows full of wildflowers were still a common sight in the Stour Area
until the 1970’s. Now, along with most of lowland Britain, over 98% of ancient grassland
has been destroyed. This important diverse habitat is irreplaceable and is a “Conservation
Priority”! Even semi improved grassland has become scarce. Unfortunately, we are
still loosing grassland at an alarming rate, ironically, often being ploughed to
produce crops to feed grazing livestock kept indoors!
Further reductions in grazing livestock from the landscape, will place the remaining
grassland under serious threat! Grassland habitat is important in many ways to our
native wildlife and ourselves. It produces our food, helps prevent flooding, removes
carbon and replenishes the air we breathe. Unfortunately, there is a worrying trend,
this important habitat can be destroyed, because it can be re-planted as margins
around an arable field. This could not be further from the truth.(See secrets of
the soil)Many of our more scarce wildflower species, are unable to survive in soils
intensively cultivated, or containing residual agro-chemicals.
Click on the link to see a survey list of wildflower species from a local meadow.
Preserving the remaining ancient grassland, can best be achieved by using the same
time honoured methods that created it thousands of years ago. Indeed, sheep are not
only responsible for the grassland landscape, but also the prosperity of the whole
area. Cattle and horses also now play a large part in managing the areas grassland,
along with hay and silage production using modern machinery. Sympathetic cutting
or grazing and allowing a meadow to seed down every few years, will help keep its
diversity of plant species.
This tightly interwoven 10cm thick layer, of living and dead organic material, can
absorb large amounts of water preventing flash flooding and soil erosion. The moisture
also helps keep the meadows lush, green and productive even without the use of organic
and artificial fertilizers. Grazing keeps the sward short allowing smaller wildflowers
room to grow and flourish. Light disturbance from hooves, agitates the soil surface,
encouraging seeds to germinate and grow. This over time, produces a meadow with a
rich mixture of annual, biennial and perennial plants.
Artificial fertilizer, which is usually high in nitrates, has a devastating impact
on ancient grassland. Some grass species become very dominant and it has been likened
to feeding them steroids. They become large and aggressive in their growth, out-competing
and smothering most of the smaller wildflowers. Residual artificial fertilizers,
are very persistent and notoriously difficult to reduce. This also has a huge negative
impact on soil biodiversity and the effects are long term especially in the local
heavy clay soils.