Grassland

Within Basingstoke, we have  good examples of the first two  sub-categories:

• Lowland calcareous grassland ( down land)
• Lowland meadows

and a limited  amount of the  rarer

• Flood meadows

With a practical perspective, members may also consider the role of improved amenity grass within their sites and roadside verges in their neighbourhood. These are dealt with in more detail in the section Wood-pasture and Parkland.

Managing grassland for biodiversity involves planning over a number of years for:
– enrichment of species range by a range of techniques,
– control of invasive species,
– cutting regime objectives – are they aimed at promoting the range of  flora species, invertebrates promotion, mammal and bird populations, the needs of  each  category are not always  compatible so  priorities have to be agreed.

A useful source of basic advice is the  2014 Grassland Management Course  held at Bishops Waltham organised by Flora Locale with Pete Potts (ex-HCC Countryside Services) as presenter. See the notes from the course here.