Effects of excluding grazing animals from grassland on sugar limestone in Teesdale, England
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Published source details
Elkington T.T. (1981) Effects of excluding grazing animals from grassland on sugar limestone in Teesdale, England. Biological Conservation, 20, 25-35.
Published source details Elkington T.T. (1981) Effects of excluding grazing animals from grassland on sugar limestone in Teesdale, England. Biological Conservation, 20, 25-35.
Summary
Teesdale (an upland region in northern England) supports a late-glacial relict flora. At one locality, Cronkley Fell (OS grid ref. NY8428), erosion of the limestone grassland, induced by sheep and European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus grazing, was of concern. It was therefore decided to erect a small experimental exclosure, primarily to test the effect on conservation of the flora, and particularly two nationally rare dwarf shrubs, dryas Dryas octopetala and hoary rockrose Helianthemum canum. The changes in the plant community over 12 years were monitored.
Vegetation within the exclosure over the 12 years changed little. After being made rabbit-proof, vegetation became taller, although the most vigorous grass, blue moor-grass Sesleria caerulea, did not exceed 10 cm vegetative height. The grassland structure slowly became more open, mainly through a decline of sheep’s fescue Festuca ovina (generally dominant in all quadrats); bryophytes and fruticose lichens also declined. Flowering and seed production of most angiosperms greatly increased.
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