By Della Lewandowski
Wildflower meadows are recognised as being havens for wildlife and biodiversity. They’re often home to over 150 different species of flowers and grasses, that in turn support a countless amount of other species. But finding flower-rich meadows and grasslands is not as easy as it used to be.
Since the 1930’s 97% of wildflower meadows have been lost, a shocking loss of 7.5 million hectares! These grasslands now cover only 1% of the UK’s land area, predominantly in scattered fragments that are at risk of being destroyed. This means that the once abundant wildflowers are now threatened, and their decline is having a knock-on effect on the species that depend on them.
Destruction of the Meadows
Wildflower meadows were created as part of traditional farming practices. Each farm would have an area to grow some crops and a permanent pasture for grazing animals, as well as a meadow to produce hay as feed over the winter months. This created an annual management cycle that kept everything in order. Big changes came to this method during World War II, when 6 million acres of grassland was ploughed in order to grow more cereals. This was the start of the decline.
Numerous Knock-On Effects
The most obvious effect of meadow destruction is causing certain species of wildflowers to become threatened. Snake’s-head fritillaries were once abundant along rivers and in wet meadows, but have now become a rare sight and are classified as ‘Vulnerable’ on the Vascular Plant Red Data List for Great Britain.
However the effects reach much further than a decline in the number of plants. As the wildflowers disappear so do the insects that rely on them for survival, as well as animals that feed on insects such as bats, hedgehogs and birds. In the UK there are over 250 bee species that all play a vital role in pollinating our crops. Wildflower meadows are ideal habitats for bees, and since their decline bees have begun to evolve to only eat a limited number of pollens. These restrictions cause a rise in food competition, which in turn causes a decline in bee populations.
What Can Be Done?
Charities such as Plantlife have developed projects aimed at improving the current situation for wildflower meadows and grasslands. National Meadows Day is now celebrated on 4th July, with events and workshops being held all over the country to help educate people about the importance of them.
Plantlife are using their expertise and donations to properly restore meadows so that they can thrive and support a wide range of other species. They want to naturally regenerate these habitats using the plants from that local area instead of commercial wildflower mixes, as this will help safeguard the distinctiveness of the local flora.
We are helping to support the fantastic work done by Plantlife by donating 10% of the sale price of our wildflower products to them. This includes our botanical prints and coasters.
