Foreword
From open hillsides through grazed fields, hayfields and road verges down to playing fields and garden lawns, grasslands are everywhere. We take them for granted. Yet grasslands, more than any other habitat, depend upon man for their survival. It is our management, our continual harvesting of each year’s growth and removal of the seedlings of trees and shrubs by grazing or mowing, which keep Scotland’s grasslands from turning to scrub and woodland.
This booklet tells the story of how ancient man first created the grasslands from forest clearings. It explains how different farming practices lead to different types of grassland and how the soil determines the plants and animals which can grow and feed there. It contrasts the uniformity of intensively managed silage fields with the diversity of traditionally managed pasture and meadow. And it describes the grasslands themselves – from the internationally renowned machair of the west coast to the rare species-rich meadows of Perthshire.
Only remnants of wildlife-rich grassland now survive in Scotland. The fate of these flower-rich swards with their butterflies, bees and birds lies in the hands of crofters and farmers. We must look after what is left. This booklet aims to raise awareness of the importance of such grassland and I commend it to you.