Land cover change in Scotland
| Rough Grassland | Intermediate Grassland | Smooth Grassland | Blanket Mire | Lowland Mire | Heather Moorland | Lochs | Canals | Reservoirs | Ditches | Rivers | Marginal Inundation | Streams | Wet Ground | Built Land | Quarry | Recreational Land | Rock/Cliff | Transport Corridor | Bare Ground | Tracks | Bracken | Low Scrub | Tall Scrub | Arable | Broadleaved Woodland | Coniferous Woodland | Mixed Woodland | Young Plantation | Broadleaved Plantation | Coniferous Plantation | Parkland | Felled Woodland | Hedgerows | Line of Trees |
Results - Feature - Grassland
Rough Grassland
Rank or tussocky grassland. May have been drained, grazed, mown or treated with manure but not so improved by fertiliser or herbicides as to have altered the sward composition greatly. Associated with unenclosed uplands, lowlands with poor access or wet areas, and road verges.
Rough grassland decreased by around 10 percent, mainly due to afforestation and grassland improvement.
- 1940s baseline - 16% of the area of Scotland
- 1940s-1980s change - 10% reduction in area
- Dynamics of change - biggest reductions to afforestation and grassland improvement; biggest gains from conversion of heather moorland and drainage of blanket mire
- 1980s outcome - 14% of the area of Scotland