The future for the management of environmentally sensitive land in Britain: the effectiveness of the Broads Grazing Marshes Scheme

Published source details Dodd A.P. (1987) The future for the management of environmentally sensitive land in Britain: the effectiveness of the Broads Grazing Marshes Scheme. MSc Thesis. University of Manchester.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Reduce management intensity on permanent grasslands (several interventions at once) Action Link

Reduce management intensity on permanent grasslands (several interventions at once)

A replicated site comparison study in Norfolk, UK, in 1987 (Dodd 1987) found higher diversity of plants on 20 grazing fields under the Broads Grazing Marshes Scheme than on five more intensively managed fields outside the scheme. Fields within Scheme had 14-31 plant species, those outside it 10-16 species. Plant diversity (the Shannon-Weiner index) was also higher in fields with less than 125 kg nitrogen/ha applied, fields with less than 1.5 livestock units/ha and unlimed fields. The Broads Grazing Marshes Scheme was set up in 1985. Farmers were paid to retain permanent grazed grassland at a stocking rate from 0.5 to 1.5 livestock units/acre. Only one silage cut per year was permitted, with aftermath grazing. Farmers needed permission from the Broads Grazing Scheme Unit if they wished to apply more than 125 kg N/ha, apply herbicide other than spot treatment for thistles, or carry out drainage, levelling or re-seeding. Plants were monitored in 1987 in two-hundred 25 x 25 cm quadrats placed along two diagonal axes across each field. Management practices were recorded for each field, using farmer questionnaires.