Transcript Mosaic Approach - Lowland Grassland

The
LOWLAND GRASSLAND
Approach
Key elements
•Shelter
•Bare ground and
early-succession habitats
•Flower-rich habitats
206 priority species are associated with lowland grassland in
England. This is by far the largest number associated with a
lowland farmland habitat. Grassland species require a range of
different sward structures, and no single type is beneficial for all.
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•Scrub and scattered trees
•Sward structure
•Ecotones
•Large-scale mosaic
Management guides for this habitat
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Shelter
Shelter can be a difficult element to
assess. However, sheltered sites are
generally those that are open to direct
sunlight but protected from excess wind
by the topography or vegetation.
Species requiring shelter are often
found in bays of scrub, against a
woodland edge or cliff face, or on
sloping ground.
South-facing slopes, and semi-circular
bays of vegetation (such as a scalloped
woodland edge adjoining grassland)
open to the south, can be especially
important.
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Photograph: Dave Mitchell
Key determining factors:
•Topography
•Succession - scrub development
•Disturbance – grazing; scrub and tree management.
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Shelter – associated priority species
Over 30% of priority species in grassland are
associated with shelter. Examples, with their
requirements, are:
- a good nectar supply; mosaic of
flowers; bare sand; scrub; shelter.
•Hazel pot beetle - scrub in short grassland or
heathland; young birch and hazel; shelter; low
boughs; south-facing sites; hedgerows.
•Dingy skipper - sparse sward and bare ground in a
mosaic; bird's-foot-trefoil (foodplant); nectar;
sheltered locations (uneven topography or within
scrub).
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Bare ground and early-succession habitats
Repeated disturbance that removes vegetation creates areas of bare and sparsely-vegetated ground.
Bare ground includes pebbles, exposed rock and even small carpets of lichen and moss. It invariably
includes a scatter of early colonisers, many of which are food plants or provide other critical resources
such as nectar and pollen.
Soil that is over-compacted or churned is
not as good as well-drained loosely
friable soil.
Bare or sparsely-vegetated ground
adjoining taller vegetation is often
important.
Key determining factors:
•Disturbance – small-scale poaching by
grazing animals; rabbits; erosion on the
edge of tracks and paths; sandpits;
excavation by machinery.
Photograph: Robert Goodison
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Bare ground and early-succession habitats
– associated priority species
43% of priority species in grassland are associated with bare ground and early-succession habitats.
Examples, with their requirements, are:
•Grey partridge - mosaic of bare ground (feeding), weedy stubble fields in winter, and long-sward
grass (nests); high density of inverts and seeds. Hedgerows, uncultivated margins and scrub edge can
provide suitable nesting and feeding conditions.
•Silver-studded blue - tight mosaic of bare ground and sparse vegetation in sheltered locations
(uneven topography or within scrub); bird’s foot trefoil (foodplant); ants of the genus Lasius.
•Black oil beetle - a good nectar supply; mosaic of flowers; bare sand; scrub; shelter.
•Early gentian - base-rich, parched grassland; sparsely vegetated.
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Flower-rich habitats
Patches of tall flower-rich grasslands that are able to flower throughout the growing season can
provide a source of nectar and seeds. They are often best represented by sheets of common
flowering-plants, such as yellow composites and umbellifers.
The diversity of species and the nature of
management can also result in a complex
structure that includes tussocks and
sheltered bays within a matrix of other
vegetation.
Key determining factors:
•Disturbance - often found in areas such as
disused sandpits or along road edges.
Best managed by infrequent mowing or
occasional grazing that retains some flower
heads.
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Photograph: Dave Mitchell
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Flower-rich habitats – associated priority species
38% of priority species in grassland are associated with herb-rich unimproved grassland. Examples,
with their requirements, are :
•Black oil beetle - a good nectar supply; mosaic of flowers; bare sand; scrub; shelter.
•Red-shanked carder bee - scrub edge and tussocks to nest in; tall-sward grassland; large-scale flowerrich resource present spring-late summer.
•Frog orchid - calcareous grassland; herb-rich unimproved; well-grazed and short.
•Felwort rust - leaves of Felwort; short/open sward.
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Scrub and scattered trees
Scrub is vegetation dominated by low, woody plants that typically forms an intermediate community
between grass or heath and woodland. Scrub that contains gaps and shrubs of different sizes is of
much greater value than scrub in large, homogenous blocks.
Occasional trees are beneficial as
they provide further structural
diversity.
Species can use scrub and scattered
trees for shelter, feeding, roosting
and nesting.
Key determining factors:
•Succession
•Disturbance - tree and scrub
management.
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Photograph: Tony Robinson
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Scrub and scattered trees – associated priority species
31% of priority species in grassland are associated
with scrub and scattered trees. Examples, with their
requirements, are:
- hedgerows or scrub (nesting);
insect-rich grassland (chick feeding); seed-rich areas
(adult feeding).
•Hornet robberfly - well-drained soils; bare ground,
scrub; grazing mammals.
•Duke of Burgundy – cowslip and primrose
(foodplants) amongst tussocky vegetation; scrub edge
and woodland clearings; humid condition; sheltered
locations (uneven topography or within scrub).
•Dingy mocha moth - sallow (foodplant) on heathland
and grassland; prefers small isolated bushes.
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Sward structure
Grassland swards have a range of structures, each of which are important for different species. Many
species require more than one structure within a mosaic.
Short swards
Tall swards and tussocks
Open swards
Key determining factors:
•Soil/Air/Water Quality
•Disturbance
•Succession
Photograph: Tony Robinson
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Short swards
Short swards are those that are only a few centimetres high. Many vascular plants can survive in
quite small patches of short grassland, whereas more extensive short swards are favoured by some
species of bird.
Many invertebrates require smaller areas
of short sward set within a mosaic of
taller vegetation.
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Photograph: Tony Robinson
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Short swards – associated priority species
44% of priority species in grassland are associated with short-swards. Examples, with their
requirements, are:
•Deptford pink - short grassland; herb rich; unimproved; bare ground; well-drained.
•Slender bedstraw - herb rich; unimproved; short-sward chalk grassland; open grassland.
•Lapwing - spring-tilled arable land; extensive open short grassland, ideally damp with winter flooding
and abundant invertebrates.
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Tall swards and tussocks
These swards are particularly favoured by
invertebrates and certain bird species.
Tall swards are often required all year round to
provide a plentiful supply of nectar, pollen, foodplants, seeds, dead seed heads and prey items.
Hay-making, which is very beneficial to certain
plant species, inevitably disrupts this continuity. So,
it is helpful if some herb-rich habitats can be
retained, either around the margins of a hay
meadow or in close proximity, whichever is the
most appropriate.
Occasional tussocks (and meadow ant nests)
provide further structural diversity and a
microclimate very different from their
surroundings. Occasional tussocks, or tussocky
areas within a wider mosaic, should be considered
as very beneficial.
Photographs: Wayne Davies/David Smallshire
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Tall swards and tussocks – associated priority species
18% of priority species on grassland are associated with tall swards or tussocks. Examples, with
their requirements, are:
- tall grass throughout the year;
bramble; rank swards.
•Reed bunting - scrub on the edge of damp/wet tall
herb/grassland, including woodland rides, young
conifers.
•Lulworth skipper – tor grass (foodplant); tall grassland;
sheltered locations (uneven topography or within scrub)
•Thatch moss – tall sward; tussocks.
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Open swards
Open swards can be short or tall, but are characterised by tiny open spaces between plants (as
opposed to a thick carpet of grass and other vegetation). These conditions are necessary for
invertebrates and some shorter-growing plant species.
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Photograph: Dave Mitchell
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Open swards – associated priority species
37% of priority species in grassland are associated with open swards. Examples, with their
requirements, are:
•Large blue butterly - well-drained grassland; very short turf; open sward; wild thyme (foodplant) ;
ants.
•Pasque flower - well-drained calcareous soil; steep south-facing slope; unimproved, herb-rich, open
sward (not shaded by scrub).
•Reindeer lichen - heath-grass-rock interface; open short sward.
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Ecotones
These are the gradation between two adjoining habitats, for example grassland and woodland.
Ecotones should not be severe; there should be a gradual change from one habitat to the other. The
wider and more varied the structure the better.
Key determining factors:
•Succession
•Disturbance - various types of
management that encourage a
transition from grassland to other
habitats.
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Photograph: Tony Robinson
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Ecotones – associated priority species
Many priority species in grassland are associated
with ecotones. Examples, with their requirements,
are:
- mosaic of bare ground (feeding),
weedy stubble fields in winter, and long-sward
grass (nests); high density of invertebrates and
seeds. Hedgerows, uncultivated margins and
scrub edge can provide suitable nesting and
feeding conditions.
•Lesser horseshoe bat - forages in woodland edge,
scrub, along hedgerows and tree lines, riparian
habitat; roosts in a variety of buildings and
underground sites including caves, buildings,
(often undisturbed and disused), mines.
•Phantom hoverfly - scrub or woodland edge on
established well-drained grasslands; possibly ants.
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Large-scale mosaic
This refers to the juxtaposition of different
habitats within a landscape. For example,
wetland and woodlands adjacent to grassland.
Such mosaics are largely required by highlymobile terrestrial species, and can include both
priority and non-priority habitats. In lowland
farmland the mosaic might include hedgerows,
hedgerow trees, ponds, ditches, and areas of
cultivation.
Key determining factors:
•Scale
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Photograph: Tony Robinson
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Large-scale mosaic – associated priority species
Over 18% of priority species in grassland are
associated with large-scale mosaics. Examples, with
their requirements, are:
- mosaic of tall swards, short swards, bare
ground; prefers very open areas not enclosed by
trees; mosaic of crops, particularly spring sown; bare
or sparsely vegetated ground (foraging).
•Great crested newt - open fish-free, well-vegetated
ponds; high density of ponds in landscape;
terrestrial cover e.g. rough grassland, scrub and
woodland; extensive terrestrial habitat.
•Red-shanked carder bee - scrub edge and tussocks
to nest in; tall-sward grassland; large-scale flowerrich resource present spring-late summer.
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Management guides
The lowland grassland management handbook
Natural England illustrated grassland guides
Conservation management advice for your livestock business
Promoting habitat mosaics for invertebrates - chalk downland
RSPB Land management advice handbooks
A management guide for birds on lowland farmland
The wet grassland guide
Managing priority habitats for invertebrates (Buglife)
Lowland calcareous grassland ; Lowland dry acid grassland ; Lowland
meadows ; Purple moor grass and rush pastures
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