PM 1 - Create new and reconnect open habitats
- Code
- PM 1
- Measure
- Create new and reconnect open habitats
- Description
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New open habitats should be created to increase their overall extent as they are often lost or transition into scrub or woodland habitats. Open habitat creation should be prioritised in areas where this will reconnect existing open habitats and allow species to move freely. This could include natural recolonisation, sowing seeds or adding plants.
- Wider environmental benefits
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Improving water quality Increasing flood risk management Reducing climate change impact Promoting nature friendly farming Controlling invasive species Supporting food provision
- Links to additional information and guidance
- Priority
- Herefordshire’s open habitats are enhanced, expanded and reconnected
- Priority description
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Open habitats form a key part of Herefordshire’s largely rural landscape (not to be confused with ‘Open Mosaic Habitats on Previously Developed Land’) and are a valuable set of habitats with a unique biodiversity supporting a variety of important species such as the curlew and great burnet. The term open habitats encompasses a variety of meadows and pastures of varying types depending on the underlying soil and geological conditions. Acid grasslands occur in places such as the Malvern Hills and neutral grassland can be found across the county, with a particularly good example at Lugg Meadows Nature Reserve near Hereford. The rarest grassland in Herefordshire is calcareous grassland, which can be found in the Wye Valley on limestone rocks. Open habitats continue to be depleted and suffer from a myriad of pressures such as urbanisation, pollution, over and under-grazing and agricultural intensification. A significant additional risk is their anonymity: species rich grasslands are frequently in suboptimal management, often appearing unexceptional to all but the specialist. This makes them vulnerable to unintended damage. They are also at risk from climate change and invasive plant species. Increasing the extent of open habitats and their interconnectivity improves their resilience to pressures, such as climate change, and helps to provide additional high-quality habitat for a variety of species.