CASE STUDIES
RESTORATION OF GRASSLAND
Ecological restoration of grasslands has been investigated in two types of
grassland communities;
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Unimproved calcareous and mesotrophic grasslands occurring on chalk soils in southern England
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mesotrophic grasslands on clay soils in northwest England
REGENERATION OF GRASSLAND FOLLOWING
MILITARY DISTURBANCE
Grassland Restoration on Salisbury Plain (pdf document)
Calcareous (chalk) grasslands are a habitat with high European importance for
both flora and fauna. The largest expanse of unimproved calcareous grassland in
north-west Europe lies within the Salisbury Plain training area (SPTA) in
Wiltshire covering an area of 38,000 hectares. About 20,000 hectares of the SPTA
has been designated as three large Sites of Special Scientific Interest. The
sole use of the land for military training since the end of the nineteenth
century has protected a very important ecological resource but a steadily
increasing intensity of military use over the past 40 years has increased
disturbance to vegetation and soils and may now be threatening this unique
ecological resource, causing habitat loss and fragmentation.
Work undertaken over a period of three years quantified and evaluated the extent
and pattern of military disturbance and investigated the capacity of the
calcareous grassland to regenerate through natural processes. Time periods of
recovery and the species composition of regenerating grassland were revealed.
For more information about this grassland restoration case study please view the
following presentation,
Grassland Restoration on Salisbury Plain
Ecological Restoration Consultants is very grateful for the collaboration and contribution made to this work by our former colleagues Dr Rachel Hirst (currently Associate Ecologist at Land Use Consultants) and Dr Richard Pywell (CEH Monkswood). We thank Defence Estates (Commandant, HQ SPTA) for their support of this work.
