Article from Brecon Beacons National Park
Last Updated: 08 April 2008 08:21
Grassland and Farmland.
The lower slopes of the uplands and the river valleys have been farmed for thousands of years. As humans have worked the land it has created a rich collection of different grasslands and hedgerows.
The different rocks that form the landscape of the National Park influence the soil that develops above. These soils have a different acidicity or ability to hold water and so encourage vegetation suited to those conditions. A variety of different grasslands have developed on these different soils.
Farming has also created some artificial habitats that have now exisited for so long we will often think of them as natural. Hedgerows are lines of cut and pruned trees created simply as a means of containing stock, while the selective planting of fruit trees created orchards.
For more information see;
Natural England: The Lowland Grassland Management Handbook contains lots of practical advice and information to download in separate sections.
CCW: Have produced a meadows and pastures in Wales information sheet.
RSPB: Produce a great deal of practical advice for farmers.
More advice on encouraging Wildlife on farms.
Explore the grassland and farmland habitats within the National Park by using the navigation bar on the left.