Grasslands and Meadows

Lowland grassland, including pastures and hay meadows, are amongst the most diverse habitats in Norfolk, home to a profusion of grasses and wild flowers, as well as a host of birds, insects, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians. However, meadows are also amongst the most fragile of habitats, vulnerable to neglect and inappropriate management. It is estimated that over 95% of this habitat has declined since the Second World War (Countryside Commission, 1985).

A wide range of grassland types occur in Norfolk, each dependent on different soils, water and management. The river terraces and acidic substrates of North Norfolk support acid grassland alongside lowland heath, while on the more neutral to calcareous clays of south and central Norfolk, grassland typical of boulder clays occurs.

Sustainable management is the key to preventing further loss of lowland grassland habitat. On the majority of sites this means establishing an appropriate hay cutting or grazing regime, but the lack of stock-proof fencing and scarcity of suitable local graziers are often major barriers. Even on sites designated for their nature conservation value, such as SSSIs and County Wildlife Sites (CWS), their often small and isolated nature can make management difficult. Of 18 CWS grasslands visited by NWT in 2006, 11 were in largely unfavourable condition, and five had been lost to ploughing or development.

At present, the development of an ecological network for Norfolk is at an early stage, but grassland is also a core habitat for this work. The management of existing high quality sites is vital, but the creation of new grassland, albeit not necessarily of high botanical value, will also be an important mechanism for creating links between other habitats.

Magical Meadows project

This three-year project aimed to deliver Biodiversity Action Plan targets for non-statutory grassland sites in Norfolk by providing advice, as well as practical and financial help to landowners to bring more sites into appropriate management; as well as creating new grassland sites.
Key outputs from the project included:

• A selected number of priority CWS brought into sustainable management
• The development of a green hay/local seed network in partnership with key contractors
• Further development of grazing networks for conservation sites in Norfolk
• The production of publications covering grassland management, restoration and re-creation
• Workshops on conservation grazing and grassland management
• The creation of rough grassland as part of Norfolk’s ecological networks development work
• Opportunity mapping for the creation of calcareous grassland

Downloads

The State of Norfolk's Magical Meadows - a Norfolk Wildlife Trust report, 2008 (PDF, 6 MB)

Magical Meadows - a blooming success

In its 2008 report, 'The State of Norfolk's Magical Meadows', Norfolk Wildlife Trust found that nearly 70% of the county's grassland County Wildlife Sites were in poor or declining condition. However, in follow-up visits a year on NWT was excited to report a marked improvement.

In the year following the publication of The State of Norfolk’s Magical Meadows in May 2008, NWT visited 25 County Wildlife Site meadows across the county. Nineteen of these then moved into appropriate management for wildlife, a fantastic result.

NWT Conservation Officer Helen Baczkowska said: “We are delighted with how well the Magical Meadows Initiative has progressed. Our grazing register, which connects County Wildlife Site owners without grazing animals in touch with local graziers, has been developed, and green hay containing the seed of nationally scarce sulphur clover was collected from road verges in South Norfolk and spread onto prepared receptor sites in a bid to reverse the fortunes of this vulnerable species. The future is looking a lot brighter for Norfolk’s meadows than it did this time last year!”

The Magical Meadows Initiative has four information sheets with details and advice for owners of meadows and pastures. The four sheets cover:

1. 1. Background information on meadows, their wildlife interest and basic do’s and don’ts
2. 2. In-depth Management advice, including grazing
3. 3. Pasture management for Horses and wildlife, with advice on how to avoid damage through over grazing
4. 4. Restoring meadows that have been neglected or damaged through over-grazing or scrub

Helen Baczkowska continued: “The information sheets will hopefully be of interest to many meadow-lovers in Norfolk. They are intended to compliment advisory work and NWT’s conservation team are keen to speak with any landowners before they start work on a County Wildlife Site or flower-rich meadow."