Why should we restore, create or expand floodplain meadows?

spreading green hay
Spreading green hay on the River Ray Meadows Nature Reserve (Photo credit: Arnaud Duranel).

Floodplain meadows (as with all other meadows) were created through human intervention, with the aim of producing a hay crop to sustain livestock over the winter. We greatly value them now for their wildlife, archaeology, history, recreational uses, flood storage and nutrient cycling. However, the vast majority of floodplain meadows disappeared over the past 100 years for a number of reasons, and less than 1500 ha now remain in the UK (a total area about the size of Heathrow airport!) There are many reasons for restoring them:

  • They are one of the most species-rich habitats in the UK. We would like to prevent them from disappearing and would like to see more.
  • They represent an important element of our rural history and are therefore a piece of cultural heritage that we should protect.
  • They are a viable commercial enterprise that delivers a product (hay) that is valuable and sustainably produced. They also offer forage for livestock grazing in late summer and early autumn. They are integral to a cherished rural landscape. 
  • They provide important ‘ecosystem services’ to us (including storage of sediments and floods,  habitat for pollinating insects and many other species).
  • They are great for personal enjoyment, rest, relaxation and mental well being.
 Floodplain meadows (as with all other meadows) were created through human intervention, with the aim of producing a hay crop to sustain livestock over the winter. We greatly value them now for their wildlife, archaeology, history, recreational uses, flood storage and nutrient cycling. However, the vast majority of floodplain meadows disappeared over the past 100 years for a number of reasons, and less than 1500 ha now remain in the UK (a total area about the size of Heathrow airport!) There are many reasons for restoring them:
To restore these meadows effectively, access to good information relating to methods, seed sources, timing and machinery is vital.  To assist you, we have tried to compile a summary of available information with links, some tools to help you understand your sites better and some case studies from others around the country who are trying, or have tried such projects.
 

How do I go about it?

There are several routes to both increasing species-richness in a poor sward (restoration), and creating a meadow from a previously arable field (creation). Changes to the way the meadow is managed may be enough to encourage more plants back into the sward, especially if there is a good seed source nearby, and if there have been damaging changes to the meadow in the past that can be reversed. Some examples include altering water management or altering the cutting and grazing regime to encourage a species-rich plant community.
 
Spreading green hay (hay cut from a more diverse site just before it is ready for hay, and collected and spread without drying or wilting) onto a species-poor area is an effective method especially if you have a species-rich meadow nearby and the soil structure and water regime on the receptor site has not been significantly altered.
 
Alternatively spreading seed collected from a suitable donor site or purchased from a supplier has also proved successful.
 
Link to NE TINS, Flora Locale website and Lowland Grassland Management Handbook for more information on practical methods (see bottom of page)
 

Why data collection in advance is useful

Information about your soil type, structure and fertility is crucial. if the soil is compacted or is very fertile (especially high phosphorus levels) then you may well be wasting time and effort tryping to restore a species rich grassland of any sort. Simple tests can be carried out to answer these questions.
 
Information about hydrology at your site, knowing how water moves around, under and through your soil will help guide you in selecting the best seed or green hay source. Dry or badly drained sites will not support many of the species found on floodplain meadows, so you may be wasting your time buying expensive seed.
 
Finding out what plant species are currently on the site (if not arable) will tell you some of the above information simply by knowing what the existing plant community is, as well as giving you a baseline against which to measure changes.
 
We have put together a check list of information that would be useful to obtain, the reasons why it is useful and how you can get it. Follow the link below to see more. The hydrology tool and the soil nutrient table (below) will help you interpret your data along with the FSC Guide to Floodplain Meadows.
 
 

Data from dipwells

A hydrology tool is coming soon to let you upload your own data. This tool will indicate, based on a choice of generic soil types, what your expected plant community based on your recprded water levels is likely to be. use this to help inform your choice of seed source and as your project develops, to learn how the plant communities match the hydrological regime found.

Soil nutrient data

What does my Olsen P result mean for my restoration site.

Index
Olsen’s P Range (mg/l)
FMP Comments
0
0-9
5-15mg/kg P is the range in which many species rich floodplain meadow sites are found
1
10-15
So this range should be perfect for the typical floodplain meadow plant community.
2
16-25
Species richness does decline above 20mg/kg, but it is still definitely worth having a go.
3
26-45
Over 25mg/kg it would be best to reduce the P level first through growing a barley crop with nitrogen added but no Phosphorus (if arable). If already grass, take one or two years worth of hay cuts and then re-measure soil P, as this is another way of reducing the P load. In heavy clay soils, it might take more than one year before P levels start to fall. Could also try an early hay cut (June) followed by a second cut in August/September to try and reduce the load.
4
46-70
Values above 50mg/kg are probably too high to consider species rich grassland restoration on without drastic measures such as top soil stripping, deep ploughing or chemical amendment.

 

What other projects can I learn from?

We are compiling case studies of restoration projects from around the country. These are carried out by people locally, who have kindly agreed to share their findings with us, or where we are carrying out monitoring ourselves.

Technical Information Notes

Natural England produce Technical Information Notes covering a range of grassland restoration methods and issues. The relevant ones can be found on their website (follow the links) and are:

Restoration Advice and Further Case Studies

Flora Locale has a website with an on-line library of resources including for grassland restoration.

The Lowland Grassland Management Handbook also contains plenty of information about meadow management and restoration.