More diversity is achieved when mowings occur in June or July, the later cutting allowing more species to flower and produce seeds.
It is important that fields of grassland are cut from the centre towards the outside so that birds and other invertebrates have the opportunity of escaping or hiding.
The cuttings should be removed and used as hay or silage crop, otherwise they may cover plants or seeds and stop them from germinating. Since a loss of nutrients occur, a replacement is needed, often provided by animal dung produced by cattle or sheep that graze after the land has been cut, however, modern farming involves artificial fertilisers.
Grazing
Cattle, sheep, horses and wild animals, such as rabbits are the main grazing animals in Britain and have a great importance in the prevention of succession of grassland to scrub.
Biting vegetation close to the ground and maintaining an even and short sward (favoured by stone crawlers, woodlarks and wheaters), sheep leave dung across all regions of a grassland but during the evening deposit their dung in specific areas, these areas becoming enriched with nutrients, harmful to flora.
Cattle are more selective of what they consume, mainly being tall and coarse plants, selecting these from certain patches, thus resulting in a sward which is uneven, increasing the diversity. Dung left by the cattle provide nutrients for the soil and trampling by the cattle can result in marshy, muddy areas, however this can be harmful if too much pressure is used.
Horses consume and can eliminate species of vegetation from one area and yet leave most of the other species existing, therefore resulting in patches within the grassland.
In wet grasslands, during the summer, the meadows are cut for hay and used for grazing and during the winter are flooded, attracting a range of birds, including waders, ducks, geese and swans. The area can be made to appear more attractive to birds if thee is variation in the surface, and it is important to have edges and pool margins in order to provide suitable conditions for waders and their chicks.
However, prolonged flooding may result in an adverse effect on both the vegetation and on the invertebrates in the soil.
Drainage of the wet grasslands lowers the water table, making the land drier, but feeding is made difficult for waders.
If winter flooding does not occur, wildfowl do not come to the area, however, effective management can result in the restoration of wet grasslands and encourage bird life and other species.
Water levels in the ditches or water channels are regulated in order to allow deliberate flooding during certain times in the year. It may also be suitable to reintroduce grazing animals during the summer.
Wet Grasslands
The succession between grassland and woodland is known as scrub and it may be invasive in neglected grassland.
Mechanical clearance is undertaken to maintain the more open stage of the succession and at times, burning or herbicides are used, however, scrub has conservation right in its own right. It provides a habitat favoured by certain insects and some birds such as warblers and nightingales.
In order to encourage the diversity of species, some areas may adopt management by a mixture of grazing and cutting in patches, thus creating mosaic vegetation, which is sympathetic to the wildlife associated with scrub.
The deliberate burning used as a way of management provides a way of controlling shrubby growth and other coarse vegetation, often in areas where it would be difficult to use machines or where the labour required would be too intense or expensive.
It is often practiced in moorlands, these areas being dominated by scrubs such as heater and bilberry. The fire stimulates the growth of heather and controls the growth of shrubby seedlings and coarse herbaceous vegetation.
The burning should occur in patches, creating a mosaic patterns with vegetation of different ages, encouraging a range of habitats, which in turn supports, a diversity of species. Furthermore, burning should not occur frequently.
Obviously, damage is done, especially to fauna, reptiles and molluscs, which cannot escape. The heat of the fire can have harmful effects on the soil, moss and lichen. Burning in areas, which are home to bracken, would not be favourable since the burning would encourage the growth of undesirable spread of it.
Burning is restricted to only occur between October and April, this protecting fauna and ensuring that there is a low risk of a fire burning out of control in the summer months.
