Why are they special?

The high plant diversity and the invertebrates and birds that depend on them make these habitats very special.

The high nature conservation value of these meadows stems from their species richness. In exceptional circumstances they can support up to 40 species of plant per square metre! The high floral diversity in turn leads to a high diversity of invertebrates and birds that are dependant upon them. The presence of rare plants such as the snake’s head fritillary (now found on only a handful of sites in the UK) adds further to their value. Therefore they form the basis of a rich food web and a complex ecological system that is very hard to replace. Their floodplain location and sensitivity to nutrient and water level changes in the wider catchment now makes them important early indicators of environmental change.

Many sites are ancient grasslands and have not been ploughed for many hundreds of years. Looking at historical records can tell us that the earliest record for hay making on Pixey Mead, near Oxford, dates as far back as 1142! Looking at the plants can tell us similar information. For example, sites in central and northern England with populations of wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa) may be many centuries old as this plant is unlikely to have survived any arable cultivations, due to its poor dispersal powers.

Meadows are a product of the rural agricultural system from which they evolved, so local people were both dependant on the hay they produced, and essential in shaping the wildlife value of meadows. Village folklore, songs and rhymes have arisen out of the importance of meadows in the local community (Littleboy blue, come blow your horn, the cow’s in the meadow, the sheep’s in the corn for example). Those that remain today are small reminders of the rural heritage we all share, and the impact of that heritage on wildlife.

What are your memories of meadows? Do you have folklore stories and memories about meadows that you would like to share? Upload your memories onto a map.

Rare Plant Species

Snake's Head Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris)

 A number of threatened and rare plants also occur in floodplain meadows. Most well known is the snake’s head fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris), a beautiful species found on a handful of meadows in Southern England and the Midlands.Looking at the pre-1950 distribution of fritillary compared to that of 1999 reveals a 38% decrease in the number of 10 km squares in which the species was recorded between those two dates. The Floodplain Meadows Partnership has been recording the change in the population of snake’s head fritillary at North Meadow, Cricklade for over 10 years. This count takes place at the time of peak flowering in mid April every year by a team of volunteers. Watch our podcast on you tube for all the action on this years count, but if you would like to get involved next year please contact us as we are always keen to hear from volunteers for this event. North Meadow holds the UK’s largest population of these stunning wildflowers. Read more about what we have found over the last 12 years here [pdf].

You can also download our fritillary leaflet here