GRASSLANDS

Before the influence of humans on the British landscape, grassland was limited to natural clearings in woodlands, high altitudes above the tree limit and coastal areas. Once people began clearing the woodlands for agriculture around 6,000 years ago, grasslands flourished with the new opportunities this provided. Since then grassland has been valuable agricultural land, managed by a combination of grazing, mowing and the light application of manure.

The main form of agriculture in Cheshire is dairy farming as the soils, glacial clays and sands deposited during the last Ice Age, are better suited to pasture than to arable. So grasslands of different forms cover much of farmed areas of the county.

These traditional grasslands are made up of many different grass species, along with a great variety of herbaceous flowering species. The latter include knapweed, betony, bugle, yarrow, common mouse-ear, pignut, ox-eye daisy, cats ear, meadow vetchling and rough hawkbit. The flowers attract meadow butterflies as well as a range of other invertebrates. Such meadows are a fantastic sight in summer, full of colour and life.

After hundreds of years of such traditional management distinctive regional variants of grasslands have evolved. Lowlands of the Cheshire region typically sustain grasslands with great crested dog's-tail, common bent and black knapweed. The grassland ecosystem contains communities of specialised insects which are tuned to the traditional patterns of management and many other animals are dependent on this rapidly declining habitat.

However, this century the need to increase productivity has led to management techniques; ploughing, reseeding and the use of herbicides and artificial fertiliser that have destroyed the traditional grasslands. The result is a species-poor sward with few or no flowers and very little invertebrate interest. Britain has lost more than 95% of its unimproved grasslands and, since 1939, the Cheshire region has lost 99%. In the 1997 Cheshire Grassland Inventory only 860ha of unimproved grasslands were found.

There are many different types of unimproved grassland, from acid to calcareous, from wet to dry, from short turf to coarse swards. True meadows are managed to produce a crop of hay that is cut in late June to July. The flowering plants in a meadow set seed before the crop is removed and the aftermath is then grazed. Pastures are used for stock grazing at any time of the year.

Flower-rich grassland can be seen at these Cheshire Wildlife Trust reserves – Swettenham Meadows, Sean Hawkins Meadow and Hockenhall Platts.

Acid Grassland
Unimproved acid grassland includes open upland grazing and lowland communities of dry sandy soils. These habitats are generally low in species diversity and may include up to 25% of dwarf shrub cover. Such habitat in the region lies predominantly in the Pennine fringe.
Semi-improved acid grassland includes areas modified by some application of fertiliser, herbicide or by high density of grazing or drainage. The distribution of sites is predominantly in the eastern fringe, with a small focus in the area of Alderley Edge.

Neutral Grassland
Unimproved neutral grassland is typically enclosed, supporting a wide variety of land use and with a considerable diversity of species. Such habitats remain sparsely scattered across the county, representing the area of lowland agriculture not affected by intensification.
Semi-improved neutral grassland includes field systems slightly modified by drainage, heavy grazing or applications of fertilisers and herbicides. The highest density of sites occurs in the south-western and south-eastern corners of the county.

Calcareous Grassland
Calcareous grassland is a feature of lime-rich habitats with a characteristic diversity of flora and natural occurrence is very limited in the region. However, lime waste deposits near Northwich are a notable man-made feature. These have given rise to a localised calcareous flora and unusual invertebrate fauna, as at Plumley, Witton and Ashton's and Neumann's Flashes.