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Managing Grassland and Maintaining Diversity

Patches of long grass are essential cover for birds and reduction in numbers of some birds can be related to the cutting of grassland.
             Grazing.
             The most common grazing domestic animals in Britain are sheep, cattle and horses. Rabbits are also common but are wild animals. Sheep bite the vegetation close to the ground and therefore maintain short even grassland. This habitat is favoured by certain types of birds such as stone curlews and woodlarks. During the night the sheep drop their dung in specific areas; this provides nutrients and enriches the plant life around it. The trampling by the sheep has little effect except were the soil is lose or the sheep are on steep hills. .
             Cattle consume relatively tall grass and as a result the grassland is uneven as they chose the areas to graze. Trampling by cattle has more of an effect as hoof marks will be left and bare soil and muddy areas if wet. The dung from a cow results in a local areas of enrichment in nutrients, the dung itself allows for another community to become established. Trampling by cattle along the edge of ditches creates a marshy muddy area but to much pressure form the trampling is harmful to a region.
             Horses are much more selective about the type of grass they eat compared to sheep and cattle. Horses can eliminate some species of grass from an area while leaving the rest untouched producing a patchy uneven sward.
             Wet grasslands.
             Wet grasslands are a part of traditional farming systems, during the summer they grass would be cut and would be used for hay and then grazing and during the winter it would be flooded. These open waters during the winter will attract a range of wildlife including many birds such as lapwing and snipe (waders), ducks and swans. Prolonged flooding may have an undesirable effect on the vegetation and invertebrates in the soil. The area is more attractive to birdlife if there is some variation of the surface features so tat it is suitable for the waders to feed (large amount of edge and pool margin).


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