Upland hay meadows
Species-rich upland hay meadows are one of the rarest grassland habitats in the country. Rich in wildlife and steeped in cultural tradition, the North Pennines holds some of the best meadows in the UK.
Status
Northern Hay Meadows (National Vegetation Classification community MG3, Anthoxanthum odoratum – Geranium sylvaticum grassland) are an Annex 1 habitat under the EU Habitats and Species Directive and are one of the rarest grassland types in the UK. Recent estimates indicate that there are less than 1,000ha of the habitat remaining in northern England with less than 100ha in Scotland. With approximately 440ha, the North Pennines AONB supports 40% of the UK's remaining upland hay meadows.
Management
North Pennines hay meadows are typically grazed during the autumn/winter and early spring and are then 'shut up' (the stock removed) in May to allow the hay crop to grow. Hay is normally cut in July or August but in some cases as late as September. Cattle are then typically returned to the field to graze the 'aftermath'. Farmyard manure tends to be applied annually to restore nutrients removed with the hay crop and traditionally light applications of lime have been added to maintain neutral soil pH conditions.
Biodiversity importance
Hay meadows do support some rare species, such as globeflower and species of Lady's mantle, but their real importance lies in their species composition. Hay meadows typically occur on low fertility soils. The lack of available nutrients, coupled with the impact of both grazing and cutting means that individual species are unable to dominate as they do in more fertile or undisturbed habitats. The very richest hay meadows contain over 30 species per square metre with up to 120 species per field. Typical species are wood crane's-bill, great burnet, pignut, wood anemone, bugle, marsh hawk's-beard, Lady's mantle and yellow rattle. Hay meadows are also important as feeding areas for invertebrates and bats and provide important nesting and feeding sites for yellow wagtail, twite, grey partridge, black grouse and curlew.
Historical and cultural context
Upland hay meadows are precious not only in biodiversity terms but because they provide an important link to the socio-economic and cultural past of the North Pennines. They are an entirely man-made and man-managed habitat and as a result are both fascinating and vulnerable.
Every hay meadow has a unique management history which depends upon its location relative to the farmstead, its aspect and altitude. These differences mean that each hay field will have been cut at a different time each year – fields closer to the farm will have tended to have been cut earlier, those at a higher altitude later. Fields closer to the farm would also be more likely to receive inputs such as farmyard manure and lime than those further away. Over the generations, these slight differences in management will have resulted in fields with subtly different suites of species, each representing a unique 'fingerprint' of the field's management history.
A declining resource
The persistence of traditional management practices in the North Pennines, coupled with the presence of the Pennine Dales Environmentally Sensitive Area Scheme (ESA), has undoubtedly prevented the complete loss of hay meadows that has occurred in other parts of the country as a result of ploughing, re-seeding, fertilisation and drainage.
Nonetheless, the hay meadow resource in the North Pennines is declining in quality and extent, albeit at a slower rate. Surveys assessing vegetation change in the ESA have indicated that the quality of meadows in the lower payment tier of the ESA (Tier 1) is declining and the occurrence of key indicator species such as wood crane's-bill is decreasing. This is likely to be largely due to the allowance under Tier 1 agreements of light applications of inorganic fertilizer. Research has shown that even small inputs can lead to a reduction in species diversity by favouring more competitive grasses.
There is also concern at the slow progress being made in re-diversifying meadows in the higher payment tier of the ESA (Tier 2). This is a result of the lack of a viable seed bank remaining in the soil and the limited potential for seeds to migrate naturally from neighbouring sites owing to the rarity and highly fragmented nature of species-rich meadows.
Hay Time - North Pennines
In light of the importance of the North Pennines for upland hay meadows and the threatened status of the habitat, the North Pennines AONB Partnership launched the Hay Time project in May 2006. Hay Time aims to conserve and enhance the hay meadows of the AONB and to increase public awareness, enjoyment and understanding of this internationally important habitat.
In this section
Five good reasons to care about upland hay meadows
Updated: 10/08/10
