What's the difference?
Meadows are types of grassland. The term ‘meadow’ refers to how the land was used. Traditionally, a meadow is a grassland habitat managed for haymaking or producing silage, just as a pasture is enclosed land that is grazed by livestock. However, in recent years the term ‘meadow’ is often used to describe grassland areas with wildflowers that are allowed to bloom.
- Meadow = how the grassland is used i.e. for haymaking or cut for sileage.
- Management is key for this habitat (relationshipis centuries old and is referred to in the Hundred rolls of Edward I (1279) andthe Doomsday Book 1086)
- Grasslands are habitats that predominantly contain grass species.
- Poor soil nutrient content
Haymaking to feed livestock has been practised for centuries and this land management practice is recognisable as part of our social and cultural heritage. After the Norman Conquest, meadows had their own land category in the Doomsday Survey of 1086 (English Heritage).
Meadow flora is associated with poor soil as the management prevents high fertility. These species can easily be outcompeted by other plants when the nutrient levels are higher.
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