";s:4:"text";s:5760:" The diversity of wildlife can increase further where other habitats such as woodlands, hedgerows and arable margins occur in surrounding farmland.Manage grazing to create a varied grassland structure. Grassland plants 2 guide (chalk and limestone) FSC Grassland plants 2 identification guide features 63 flowering plants of lowland chalk and limestone grasslands. Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering 300 square miles (780 km 2). This varied sward or ‘mosaic’ can be created by low intensity grazing with cattle or sheep, sometimes in combination with rabbit grazing (the latter can create areas of disturbance preferred by many insects). It is now very rare and fragmented, and is of international conservation importance.
chalk grasslands to survive. The types of plant that you find in a grassland will indicate the kind of soil there is there. Scrub should be removed sensitively as some wildlife species are associated with new and emerging scrub and others are associated with the shaded conditions underneath. VEGETATION.
); This is a full identification key based on leaf characteristics.
Our Chalk Grassland At first glance, the open hills of the South Downs seem ... All across chalk downland habitats are found rare plants and animals – such as round-headed rampion, Autumn lady’s-tresses and early spider orchids, along with 29 species of butterfly – including the aptly named chalkhill blue. NHBS GmbH, Registergericht Amstgericht Bonn, Umsatzsteuer-ID DE326630061
There is excellent, detailed discussion of the constitution of chalk grasslands in Rodwell et al. The identification key is based on leaf characters so that plants can be identified when not in flower. Further advice is provided in our ‘scrub’ advice note.Many species of insect, reptile and plant rely on small areas of bare ground within a varied sward, for basking and or nesting. It flowers early in the year, between March and June, displaying distinctive, violet-like flowers. Well known for their plant diversity – maybe 40 species in a square metre – these aromatic, flower-rich grasslands are very much worth seeing. A combination of sheep grazing over several hundred years and a soil deficient in most plant nutrients has allowed the development of the short, springy grassland. In chalk grassland the short, springy grass supports many animals and plants. Indeed some wild flowers don’t occur anywhere else.For the British or Irish naturalist, chalk grassland is particularly special. many as forty plants per square metre, chalk grassland is on a par with the rainforests in terms of the number of species of flora and fauna it supports. All across chalk downland habitats are found rare plants and animals – such as round-headed rampion, Autumn lady’s-tresses and early spider orchids, along with 29 species of butterfly – including the aptly named chalkhill blue.
Calcareous grassland is an important habitat for insects, particularly butterflies, and is kept at a plagioclimax by grazing animals, usually sheep and sometimes cattle. These grasslands are now rare in the UK, with the largest area in Europe present across the Salisbury Plain.Some of our rarest species are now living on very small fragments of chalk and limestone grassland and are threatened with extinction.
After flowering, livestock are brought back, and can remain on the grassland until they have reduced annual grass growth. From meadow ants to orchids to the rare stone-curlew, chalk grassland is host to many rare and threatened species … These grasslands continue to be lost or damaged through use of fertilisers and herbicides, over-seeding with more agriculturally competitive fodder grasses, ploughing for arable crops, new forestry, urban development, road building and recreational pressure. Use this concise fold-out guide to quickly put a name to the flowers that you see.But what if you find a plant that is not in flower?
The 12 page chart has clear colour illustrations of sixty-three of the plants and black and white illustrations of fifteen plants common to chalk and limestone grasslands.
1 Whilst these criteria generally hold true for most types of grassland, some lowland acid grasslands may be naturally species -poor or dominated by grasses and lower plants.
Historically they have been grazed at a very low intensity which, combined with the soil conditions, has produced wildlife habitats with high plant and animal diversity.
Plant feeding insects are abundant on chalk grassland and include an array of beetles, particularly weevils and leaf beetles. These grasslands are found on lime-rich (pH >7), nutrient poor dry soils derived from, or overlaying, chalk or limestone bedrocks.