County Wildife Site Criteria for Cornwall Appendices

LOCAL LOWLAND MEADOWSGeneral DescriptionThe lowland meadows that are considered to be of particular conservation importance in Britain area very small sample of all the grasslands that are found in Cornwall. Of course, the greater part of thefarmland landscape is dominated by stands that might be characterised as MG7 or the floristicallyimpoverished forms of MG6. There has traditionally been widespread agreement that neither ofthese are of any particular nature conservation interest, but that view is now challenged. Certainly ata local level we should consider the richer elements of MG6 such as the Iris pseudacorus variant thatso enriches the damper bottoms of so much of our farmland. So too should we look at the richervariants of MG7e. Both of these have been highlighted at a national level in a recent report on theEuropean context of British Lowland grasslands (Rodwell et al 2007).Moreover, there has also been an historical and deeply rooted opinion that many grasslands that areclearly more diverse and hold a range of flora and fauna which is of some significance should not beaccorded much significance. We may particularly think of the MG1 Arrhenatherum grasslands thattypically occupy so many roadside verges. They have added floristic interest together with enhancednumbers of butterflies, other invertebrates and small mammals.This LHT also brings together other grasslands such as the floristically impoverished mesotrophicgrasslands classified as MG9 and MG10 which are both typical of permanently moist sites most oftenfound throughout the lowlands. Neither of them is often viewed as much more than unproductiveagricultural land, but their position in the landscape often makes them part of a transition betweengrassland to swamp. More than that, they may hold conspicuous stands of buttercups with smallernumbers of other flowers such as ladies smock. Though these are not rare or scarce species of highbotanical interest, they clearly mark the grasslands as of wildlife interest and they clearly of enhancedthe character of the local landscape.National ContextRelatively recent survey findings in Britain reveal an estimated extent of less than 15 000 ha ofspecies-rich neutral grassland surviving today in Britain. But that figure only refers to a restrictedrange of grasslands and it is clear that a review of what lowland meadows are of some nationalsignificance needs to be reviewed. In particular, a review of the importance of wetter pastures andmeadows is urgently required.There appears to be no understanding of the total area of this suite of grassland vegetationcommunities in Britain.Cornwall ContextThere are a large number of stretches of MG1 in roadside verges and there must be thousands ofsmall patches of this grassland scattered throughout the county. A review of this resource is neededbefore any proper assessment of its wildlife importance can be made. In particular we need tounderstand the number of sub-communities that occur here, where they are found and what thehistory and management of these grasslands has been. A provisional estimate is that there may be500 - 1000 ha of MG1 in the county.The valley bottoms of many farms contain wet areas that may be a MG6 variant or perhaps thegrassland vegetation communities of MG9 and MG10. Once again, a review of the resource is neededbefore a considered assessment can be made, but there may something like 100 - 500 ha in thecounty.Area of PHT in Cornwall (ha): estimated 600-1500For this habitat we will take all areasAppendix 5 - Information Relating to Local Habitat Types.County Wildlife Sites Criteria