Farm characteristics and the vegetative diversity of grasslands in the North of England: a policy perspective

A survey of 36 fields across 11 farms in the North of England was conducted to record the plant species diversity of grassland communities under various base conditions. Data pertaining to topographical advantage, farm management strategy and soil type were also collected for each field site. The re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biodiversity and conservation 1998-10, Vol.7 (10), p.1333-1333
Main Authors: Oglethorpe, David R, Sanderson, Roy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biodiversity
Environmental conditions
Environmental policy
Farm management
Farms
Flora
Grasslands
Ordination
Plant diversity
Plant species
Soil types
Species diversity
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Summary:A survey of 36 fields across 11 farms in the North of England was conducted to record the plant species diversity of grassland communities under various base conditions. Data pertaining to topographical advantage, farm management strategy and soil type were also collected for each field site. The relationship between management inputs and base environmental conditions and the resultant diversity of flora were identified through ordination techniques. The results show a total of 111 species being observed across the sample and some expected relationship emerge, but they also suggest that complementary management techniques can have opposing or conflicting effects on species prevalence. The study argues that provision or use of such information should be paramount within environmental policy formulation where site-specific management plans are used to produce environmental goods.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0960-3115
1572-9710
DOI:10.1023/A:1008847916584