Introduction
Lying between Scotland’s world-famous heather moorlands, coastal firths and sea lochs, our grasslands are easily overlooked. The word ‘grasslands’ – in Gaelic ‘glasach’, meaning lea or fallow land, green field – evokes a variety of images. To some, grasslands are extensive stretches of unenclosed turf speckled with wildflowers. To others they may be secluded fields penetrated by ancient tracks, pastures enclosed by makeshift stone walls or featureless tracts of modern agricultural land.
Grasslands cover the land upon which most farms and crofts lie, and from
which most of Scotland’s food is produced. The greater part of Scotland’s
network of roads and railways criss-cross the grasslands, providing a backdrop
familiar to every traveller. Most of Scotland’s grasslands were created
by man and are maintained by farming. They are an important part of our
natural heritage providing a vital habitat for a wide range of animals and
plants including many different invertebrates, breeding and overwintering
birds, mammals and flowering plants.