Wildlife-rich grassland

What we need to do and where

Torrington common, Mike Waller

Snapshot

What wildlife-rich looks like:

A wide range of grasslands and structure.  Flower-rich grasslands provide essential pollen, nectar and seeds and can support rare plants.  Old grass tussocks and long grass provide essential shelter and food for small mammals, ground-nesting birds and invertebrates. Bare ground in shorter swards provides basking and nesting sites for invertebrates such as bees.  Wildlife-rich grasslands are found in mosaics with trees, hedges, patches of scrub, watercourses and ponds. In the summer they’re full of colour and the sounds of birds and buzzing insects.  

Focus Species:

Mammals: Harvest mouse, greater horseshoe, lesser horseshoe, serotine and barbastelle bats.

Birds: Farmland birds, especially skylark, kestrel and house martin. Choughs on maritime grasslands.

Invertebrates: Torbay limestone moths, coastal grassland species such as the six-banded nomad bee, rare carder bees, variable meadow fly, Devon red-legged robber fly and oil beetles. 

Plants:  Deptford pink, greater butterfly orchid, frog orchid, green-winged orchid…add others

Bryophytes of Torbay limestone grassland

Maritime grassland lichens

Status:

Priority habitats include: Lowland meadow, lowland acid grassland, lowland calcareous grassland, maritime cliff and slope.

Irreplaceable habitats: No grasslands are currently listed as statutory irreplaceable habitats. However, some species-rich grasslands are likely to have existed on the same site for 100s or 1,000s of years. Plants, fungi and soils will have developed intricate relationships and these grasslands could be considered as ancient irreplaceable habitats.

1. About

Wildlife-rich grasslands, like other grazed habitats, have evolved with our farming systems over 1,000s of years since woodland clearance began across the UK during the Bronze Age (2500 – 800 BC). They’re largely composed of grasses and non-woody plants that can be eaten by livestock. They all depend on grazing or cutting, which prevents them reverting to scrub and woodland but allows plants to set seed. Animal dung helps to fertilise the grassland and provides a microhabitat for insects. 

While most are part of the farmed landscape, some smaller grasslands are also found in sunny, open areas in woodlands where they’re grazed by livestock or wild animals such as deer.  Wildlife-rich grasslands are also found in urban areas, such as along road verges and railway lines and in our parks and gardens.  

The complex plant communities found in these grasslands vary hugely depending on physical factors such as soil pH, soil depth, soil nutrients, rainfall and management. Soil pH is used to divide plant communities into three main types: neutral, acid and calcareous grasslands. These are described below but all can grade into each other. Grasslands will also grade into other habitats such as rush pastures and mires as soils get wetter, and shrubby heaths as soils become more acidic and grazing pressure is reduced.

Most of Devon’s green fields and urban grasslands are managed for agriculture or amenities and are not wildlife rich. The majority of wildlife-rich grasslands were lost due to post-war agricultural intensification, housing and other urban land uses (see Key pressures and opportunities below). Remaining habitats are often small and fragmented, and largely confined to steep slopes that are not easy to develop or worth improving for farming.  However, there is now a growing understanding of the many benefits of wildlife-rich grasslands, including for livestock, and a move to restore and create them in rural and urban areas. 

Wet acidic rush pastures (purple moor-grass and rush pasture) are discussed in Heath, mire and rush pastures. Coastal grazing marsh is discussed in Coast.

Neutral grasslands

Neutral grasslands occur across Devon on free-draining soils that have a pH of around 5.5 – 7.  They include:

Lowland meadow (UK priority habitat)

Lowland meadow is the most common species-rich grassland remaining across Devon. Small areas are often found on steep slopes that are not worth improving for farming. They’re also often found in wildlife-rich mosaics along 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.

Three different plant communities are found in Devon’s lowland meadows. The most common, known as the heath grass community, is found on slightly acid soils that occur over most of Devon. Typical species include heath grass, pignut and betony. In wet areas, such as the north Devon Culm, the species mix grades into purple moor-grass and rush pasture (see Heath, mire and rush pasture). On free-draining acid soils, such as the east Devon greensands, it grades into lowland acid grassland.   

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.

Lowland acid grasslands

These grasslands are generally found on more acidic (pH less than 5.5) free-draining soils. They’re an underappreciated and misunderstood grassland type, both in Devon and nationally, and frequently misidentified as species-poor lowland meadow. Characteristic grasses include common bent and sweet vernal grass, and flowers include common cat’s-ear, mouse-eared hawkweed and heath speedwell. 
 
These habitats are not the same as species-poor acid grasslands that have developed due to overgrazing of heathlands and are found over large areas of Dartmoor and Exmoor.
 
The main locations for species-rich lowland acid grasslands are:
Above the wet mires on the east Devon greensand scarp slopes.
The south-western and south-eastern edges of Dartmoor (around Roborough, Burrator reservoir and Trusham in the Teign Valley) on acidic, mineral-rich metamorphic rocks. 
The small hay meadows around farms in Dartmoor valleys. 
 
There are also small areas of lowland acid communities in coastal grasslands and sand dune vegetation. 
 
The areas listed above have slightly different communities of plants. The south-west Dartmoor and Dartmoor grasslands are more species rich. Dartmoor meadows support rare plants such lady’s-mantles, moonwort, great burnet, greater butterfly-orchid (a characteristic species of central Dartmoor hay meadows) and the nationally-threatened English eyebright. South-west Dartmoor acid grasslands support common dog violet, heath dog violet, lesser butterfly orchid (still?) and Vigurs’ eyebright.
 
Lowland, dry, acid grasslands in the Teign Valley are among the richest in the UK for therophytic plants.  Notable plants are slender bird’s-foot trefoil, greater broomrape, hoary cinquefoil, clustered clover and suffocated clover. Grasslands in this area support green-winged orchids, a fast-declining species that is very rare west of the River Exe. 
 
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 acid grassland LNRS paper. See Find out more below.

Calcareous grasslands

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 east Devon, particularly around Membury. 

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.

Maritime grasslands

Maritime 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, maritime 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.   

Health check

Latest information on SSSIs and CWS to be added during or after the Consultation in discussion with NE and DBRC

Key pressures and opportunities

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Grazing

Many grasslands are being abandoned where grazing isn’t economically viable. Some are losing their wildlife value due to changes in cutting regimes or how grazing is managed. In urban areas such as Torbay, it can be hard to find graziers and sites often suffer from nutrient enrichment caused by dogs fouling. Increasingly intensive stock farming, in particular dairy farming, remains a threat. However, there is growing appreciation of how species-rich grasslands help to produce high-quality and highly nutritious meat and dairy. 

Talk to farming group and add information on herbal leys and issues relating ELM

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Agricultural improvements

The post-war drive to increase agricultural production led to a significant loss of wildlife-rich grasslands due to the increased use of artificial fertilisers and slurry, regular ploughing and reseeding, increased cutting for silage production and greater herbicide use. This completely changed both the species found in grasslands and the soils that support them. Agricultural improvement is still a threat to some species-rich grasslands across Devon, so it’s critical that those who manage these grasslands are given financial support to protect and care for them.

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Community interest

There’s huge interest among community groups, individuals and greenspace managers in creating wildlife-rich grasslands for their wildlife and recreational value. However, there’s not enough easily obtainable advice, local seed or graziers to help them.

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Grassland creation: seed and soils

Organisations such as the National Trust, Dartmoor National Park Authority, Devon Wildlife Trust and private businesses such as Goren Farm are harvesting and drying seed from meadows to create and enhance species-rich grasslands. There is, however, not enough locally sourced seed to meet demand and many new grasslands (particularly in development schemes) are created using standard mixes from national companies.

One of the main limiting factors for restoring and creating species-rich grassland is the high concentration of phosphate in the soil.

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Loss through tree planting

Many wildlife-rich grasslands occur on steep slopes, which are also areas preferred for tree planting. 

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Flood control and water quality

Grasslands are being protected and created to help store water and reduce diffuse pollution. Examples of projects include Connecting the Culm and Triple Axe.

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Development and infrastructure

Development remains a threat to wildlife-rich grasslands, especially those that are misidentified or not classed as Priority Habitats. There are opportunities to create more through Biodiversity Net Gain, the restoration of quarries (such as the huge clay quarries in the Bovey Basin) and along road and rail corridors. However, current proposals to change wildlife and planning legislation is a huge threat.

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Climate change and carbon

Climate change is likely to pose the biggest threat to grasslands on thin, free-draining soils that are susceptible to drought, such as Torbay limestone grasslands.

Species-rich grasslands on relatively deep soils are much more able to store carbon than species-poor grasslands. This is likely to be due to the presence of deep-rooted perennials such as black knapweed and red clover.

2. What we need to do and where

Priority

Better (wildlife-rich), bigger and more wildlife-rich grasslands that are connected to a network of habitats across Devon. 

Actions for wildlife-rich grassland

See Find out more below for links to guidance on habitat management and creation, funding (including national environmental land management (ELM) funding and prescriptions), condition monitoring and more. 

Manage, restore and create wildlife-rich grasslands, particularly for Focus Species

Use habitat and species surveys and knowledge of past management to inform management decisions.

  • Continue to manage all existing wildlife-rich grasslands and restore degraded wildlife-rich grasslands. General actions include:
    • Light grazing or cutting to prevent succession to scrub and woodland while allowing plants to grow and set seed.
    • Fertilise using farmyard manure if needed. 
    • Avoid, as far as possible, pesticides and avermectins.  Agree wording with the farming group.
    • Manage for species needs, particularly Focus Species (see below).
    • Manage adjacent land to reduce impacts from, for example, invasive species, lighting and pesticide drift.
  • Extend existing sites and create new wildlife-rich grasslands as part of a mosaic of wildlife-rich habitats that includes, for example, hedges, scattered scrub, ponds and watercourses.  
  • Where possible, create grasslands adjacent to or close to existing sites to aid seed transfer, grazing and movement of wildlife. 
  • Focus effort on land with the greatest potential for restoration and on sites with low phosphate levels, ideally 0-1. Land with level 3 phosphate levels will need  to have topsoil removed to reduce nutrient levels. 
  • Use locally-sourced seed as appropriate to the soil type.  

Improved agricultural grasslands

Enhance the wildlife value of agriculturally improved permanent grasslands and grass leys through xxxxxxx  Talk to farming group / North Wyke

Improve local seed supplies

Develop a coordinated approach to seed harvesting to ensure that seeds from Devon plant communities are used to restore and create habitat.

Funding

  • Secure long-term funding through ELM for extensive livestock farming and wildlife-rich grasslands.   
  • Provide simple, small-scale grants for community groups to buy, for example, advice, equipment and seed, building on schemes such as Devon Local Nature Partnership’s Wild About Devon grant scheme.

Advice and awareness

Develop a joined-up land management network and advisory service (farming, forestry and green spaces) that:

  • Shares learning from farmers, foresters, other land managers and ecological monitoring and researchers.
  • Promotes best practice regarding the management and restoration of grasslands, including in woodland mosaics and as recreational green spaces.
  • Links graziers and local seed suppliers with land managers.
  • Promotes research into the benefits of species-rich grasslands for livestock (Rothamsted, Duchy?).
  • Builds on existing networks such as Moor Meadows and the Blackdowns Rough Grazing Network  – discuss. 
  • Promotes available funding.
  • Works with Defra to develop flexible agri-environment schemes that lead to nature restoration and viable farm businesses.
  • Add actions from the farm advice report produced for Devon LNP

Survey, monitoring and data

  • Increase monitoring and survey of wildlife-rich grasslands, including SSSIs and CWS.
  • Develop a funded business model for Devon Biodiversity Records Centre (DBRC) to ensure a more joined-up and accessible system for wildlife data in Devon that is fully embedded into national systems. This requires significant changes at both national and local levels.  Agree wording with DBRC

Other relevant actions

others to be added.

Where to focus action

Actions are prioritised to the following High Opportunity Areas (in bold). See Mapping for the LNRS Viewer and details on how areas have been mapped.

  • All existing wildlife-rich grasslands
  • 100m buffer and expansion zones around all mapped grasslands that are not in the landscape areas listed below
  • Potential ancient grassland restoration areas (fields most likely to have soils that have not been agriculturally improved as they are on slopes or are likely to be long-established grasslands)
  • Wood pasture and parkland, orchards.
  • Mid Teign Valley metamorphic soils
  • Enclosed Dartmoor meadows
  • East Devon chalk
  • Torbay limestone
  • South West Dartmoor Downs
  • Coastal Wildbelt
  • Watercourse corridors
  • Access to Nature zones

Species restoration areas:

  • Greater horseshoe bat and grey long-eared bat sustenance zones.

Mapping health warning: These habitats are all mosaics and grade into each other, which makes them hard to map. Therefore, there will be inconsistencies and errors in the maps of existing habitats shown on the LNRS Viewer. Habitats may be missing or misnamed.

Nature everywhere

It’s important to take EVERY opportunity to create and manage grasslands for wildlife across Devon. This includes farms, parks and green spaces, quarries, golf courses, holiday parks, road verges, railway corridors, gardens and more.

3. Inspiration

Case studies

There’s lots of great work going on across Devon for wildlife-rich grasslands. For example:

Moor Meadows 

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National Trust: North Devon

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Where to visit

Always follow the Countryside Code and keep to footpaths and sites which are managed for public access.

Opportunities across Devon

There are lots of opportunities to visit beautiful flower rich grasslands across Devon. These include Devon Wildlife Trust reserves such as Teigngrace near Newton Abbot where Lowland Meadow has been restored on former clay workings. 

Other sites include: Goren Farm in the Blackdown Hills, Berry Head NNR limestone grasslands in Torbay, Roborough Common acid grasslands on the south-west edge of Dartmoor, the chalk grassland on the east Devon coast and Billacombe Green SSSI in Plymouth. 

For information on visiting these and other sites see the Explore Devon website.

4. Find out more

More links to be added through consultation

LNRS Habitats Classification Table

UKHab (2023) The UK Habitat Classification https://ukhab.org

Lowland meadows – overview for the LNRS,  Phil Wilson

Lowland calcareous grassland – overview for the LNRS,  Phil Wilson

Lowland acid grassland – overview for the LNRS, Phil Wilson

Maritime cliff and slope – overview for the LNRS, Phil Wilson

Grassland creation / management – FEP Manual 2010 Beta manual for CS

Funding to create, manage and restore lowland meadows is available through the Countryside Stewardship scheme.

Moor Meadows provide advice and networking opportunities throughout Devon

Goren Farm manages a large area of lowland meadow to produce seed and green hay for habitat restoration and creation. 

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