grasslands

Grassland includes meadows, pastures and amenity areas. Meadows are annually cut for hay, whereas pastures are grazed. Amenity grassland is closely and regularly mown in urban areas within public parks, recreation/sports grounds and private gardens.

There is a diverse range of grassland types in the Trust's region, stretching from sea level with saltmarsh, dune and coastal grassland, up onto some of the highest hills in Lancashire. They can be wet or dry, acidic, neutral or calcareous, improved or unimproved. However, nature isn't clear-cut and there can be a mosaic of several different types in a small area.

Grasslands are important in their own right with species-rich neutral and calcareous grassland being represented in the Lancashire Biodiversity Action Plan. They also support a range of other species including fungi, nesting birds, butterflies and many invertebrates. To many animals the vegetation structure is as important as the plant species hence a variation in the height is preferable and ideally some areas should be left tall over the winter.

When it comes to management, meadows are cut usually for hay and this includes the traditional wildflower meadows. The best time to cut hay in terms of nutritional value for animal feed can be June but this is too early for many plants to have produced seed and for ground-nesting birds to have finished nesting. Hence for nature conservation, cutting after the majority of plants have set seed is preferable, which is often September or October. If you have a garden why not create your own mini wildflower meadow at home?

Pastures are grazed by livestock such as cattle and sheep and/or by wild animals such as rabbits and deer. Sheep can nibble very close to the ground, producing a lawn effect and eating all the flowers, whereas cattle and horses don't graze so closely and often plants are given a chance to flower and seed.