Wildlife-rich grassland

Neutral grasslands occur across Devon on free-draining soils that have a pH of around 5.5 – 6.5. They include:

Lowland Meadow (UK Priority Habitat)

Lowland Meadow is the most widespread species-rich grassland remaining across Devon. Small areas are often found on steep slopes that are difficult to improve for farming. They’re often found in wildlife-rich mosaics with wetlands, scrub and woodlands. Characteristic grasses include crested dog’s tail and sweet vernal grass. Flowers include bird’s-foot trefoil, black knapweed, meadow buttercup and yellow rattle. Green-winged orchids still survive in a handful of meadows in south and east Devon.

Devon’s Lowland Meadows can be divided into three types.

• On the slightly acid soils that occur over most of Devon, typical species include heath grass, pignut and betony. Where wetter these grade into species-rich rush pastures (see Heath, bog, mire and rush pasture). On free-draining acid soils, such as the east Devon greensands, they grade into Lowland Dry Acid Grassland (see below).   
• On deeper less acidic soils, which might have been farmed slightly more intensively in the past, are less species rich but often include meadow vetchling, yellow rattle and rough hawkbit.
• On more calcareous soils over chalk and limestone typical species include ladies bedstraw and salad burnet. These grasslands can grade into Lowland Calcareous grassland (see below). Fields of this grassland type near Plymouth are important for the nationally rare field eryngo.

Rough, tussocky permanent grasslands

Where grasslands are unmanaged, or only very lightly managed, species such as false oat-grass and cock’s-foot dominate, with rushes in wetter areas. Grasslands become tussocky and many flowering species are unable to survive. While not rich in plant species, these grasslands are important for small mammals and insects, which in turn provide a critical food source for birds such as barn owls and bats. They’re widespread in Devon. found on areas of less intensively managed farmland (steep slopes, wetter areas) as well as along verges, paths, rivers, railway lines and field margins.  

More information on these plant communities are given in the LNRS Habitat Classification Table and the Lowland Meadows LNRS paper. See Find out more below.

These grasslands are generally found on more acidic (pH less than 5.5) free-draining soils. It is an underappreciated grassland type, both in Devon and nationally, and frequently misidentified as Lowland Meadow. Characteristic grasses include common bent and sweet vernal grass, and flowers include common cat’s-ear, mouse-eared hawkweed and heath speedwell. The main areas where they are found are:

• The south-western and south-eastern edges of Dartmoor (around Roborough Down, Burrator reservoir and in the Teign Valley) on acidic, mineral-rich rocks. The downs around the SW edge of Dartmoor have rare plants such as heath dog violet, lesser butterfly orchid and Vigurs’ eyebright.  Rare plants in the Teign Valley include slender bird’s-foot trefoil, greater broomrape, hoary cinquefoil, clustered clover and suffocated clover
• The small hay meadows around farms in Dartmoor valleys (often a mix of neutral and acid grasslands). Dartmoor meadows support rare plants such lady’s-mantles, moonwort, frog orchid, great burnet, greater butterfly-orchid (a characteristic species of central Dartmoor hay meadows) and the nationally-threatened English eyebright.
• East Devon – especially the scarp slopes (over greensand geology) where greater broomrape can be found and which are interrnationally important for waxcap fungi. .
• Small areas in coastal grasslands and sand dune vegetation. 

 Lowland acid grasslands can form important mosaics with bracken and scrub and support Focus Species such as high brown and pearl-bordered fritillary butterflies, whose caterpillars feed on violets in the grasslands. They’re also important for fungi, including waxcaps.
 
More details on these plant communities are given in the LNRS Habitat Classification Table and the Lowland Dry Acid Grassland LNRS paper. See Find out more below.

Calcareous grasslands are rare in Devon and occur where soils with a high pH (above 7) develop over limestone and chalk. They’re largely found in coastal areas on the east Devon chalk (between Weston Mouth and Dorset) and on the limestone around Plymouth and Torbay. There are also small areas of calcareous grasslands on the limestone around Ipplepen and on limestone outcrops in the Blackdown Hills. 

Calcareous grasslands typically have a very rich mix of plants and between the end of April and October are an abundant food source for a wide range of invertebrates. Grasses include sheep’s fescue, meadow oat-grass and quaking grass. Flowers include wild thyme, salad burnet, small scabious and common rock-rose. As the grasslands get nearer to the sea they develop into maritime grasslands with salt-tolerant species such as thrift and sea carrot becoming more common (see Maritime grasslands below). 

Devon’s calcareous grasslands support a wealth of rare plants that are listed as Focus Species in a Calcareous coastal plants group. These include Nottingham catchfly and early gentian (on the east Devon chalk), pale St John’s wort (found in all calcareous areas), field eryngo (on the Plymouth limestone) and a group of Torbay limestone specialists including goldilock’s aster, white rock rose and honewort. 

Sunny, flower-rich calcareous grasslands also support rare invertebrates, many of which depend on the rare plants, bryophytes and lichens that grow there. White spot moth caterpillars feed on Nottingham catchfly while the caterpillars of the rare moth, Coleophora linosyridella, feed on goldilocks aster. Calcareous grasslands in Torbay and the east Devon coast are important feeding habitats for greater horseshoe, lesser horseshoe and Bechstein’s bats, which roost in the limestone and chalk caves at Berry Head and Beer.    

More details on these plant communities are given in the LNRS Habitat Classification Table and the Calcareous grassland LNRS paper. See Find out more below.

Coastal grasslands are found on or near sea cliffs and slopes where species that tolerate salt spray such as thrift, sea carrot, sea lavender and sea plantain can survive. The mix of plants present depends on their exposure to salt spray, with more sheltered areas developing more species-rich grasslands. As salt spray reduces, coastal grasslands grade into the other grasslands discussed above.   

Sunny, warm, flower-rich coastal grasslands are particularly important for invertebrates. Species such as moths and bees rely on foodplants in the grasslands as well as on other habitats nearby, such as bare soil in the cliffs, which they use as nesting sites. The mosaic of flowers, grasses, scrub, bare soil and cliffs is known as Maritime Cliff and Slope and is discussed on the Coast page.