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Restoring cliff top grassland - summary
Rehabilitation of undergrazed grassland or heath which has become overgrown
with moribund heather, bracken and/or scrub is one of the most frequently encountered
management issues on coastal cliffs of northwest Europe. In areas where the
cliffs have become overgrown due to lower stocking or abandonment reversal of
the process by reintroducing grazing is the primary management tool. The National
Trust, in particular, is at the forefront of developing grazing management
and has a number of sites where it is being maintained or reintroduced in order
to benefit nature
conservation. Burning,
mowing
and mechanical control have all also been tried with varying degrees of success.
A number of experiments have been undertaken, to reverse particularly badly
affected cliffs which have become overgrown with gorse Ulex
europeus, bracken Pteridium
aquilinum and hawthorn Cretagus monogyna
(Hearn 1995).
Limited attempts have been made to re-create cliff top chalk
grassland and heathland
from former arable land, reversing the loss of this type of habitat.
| General guidance: Establishing appropriate grazing management is
an essential but complex process in the management of cliff and cliff top
vegetation. An indication of appropriate grazing
regimes is given for accessible cliff tops and slopes. However,
in many instances the cliffs have become so overgrown that simply reintroducing
sheep will be ineffective. Experience by the National
Trust provides pointers to good practice. |
References
Hearn, K.A.
1995.
Stock grazing on semi-natural habitats on National Trust land.
In: The National Trust and Nature Conservation, ed.Bullock, D.J. & Harvey, H.J.Academic Press, 25-37.
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