Calcareous grassland

Calcareous grassland (or alkaline grassland) is an ecosystem associated with thin basic soil, such as that on chalk and limestone downland.^[1] Plants on calcareous grassland are typically short and hardy, and include grasses and herbs such as clover. Calcareous grassland is an important habitat for insects, particularly butterflies and ants,^[2] and is kept at a plagioclimax by grazing animals, usually sheep and sometimes cattle. Rabbits used to play a part but due to the onset of myxomatosis their numbers decreased so dramatically that they no longer have much of a grazing effect.

There are large areas of calcareous grassland in northwestern Europe, particularly areas of southern England, such as Salisbury Plain and the North and South Downs.

The machair forms a different kind of calcareous grassland, where fertile low-lying plains are formed on ground that is calcium-rich due to shell sand (pulverised sea shells).

See also

• Alvar
• Chalk heath
• Edaphic
• Gypcrust
• Gypsum flora of Nova Scotia
• Rendzina

Notes

References

• Gibson, C.W.D. (1995). Chalk grasslands on former arable land: a review. Bioscan (UK) Ltd, Oxford.
• Gibson, C.W.D. & Brown, V.K. (1991). The nature and rate of development of calcareous grassland in southern Britain. Biological Conservation, 58, 297-316.
• Hillier, S.H., Walton, D.W.H. & Wells, D.A. (Eds.) (1990). Calcareous grasslands - ecology and management. Bluntisham, Huntingdon.
• Mugnai M, Frasconi Wendt C, Balzani P, Ferretti G, Dal Cin M, Masoni A, Frizzi F, Santini G, Viciani D, Foggi B, Lazzaro L. (2021). Small-scale drivers on plant and ant diversity in a grassland habitat through a multifaceted approach. PeerJ 9:e12517 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.12517
• Price, Elizabeth (2002), Grassland and heathland habitats, New York: Routledge, p. 208, ISBN 978-0-415-18762-6
• Smith, C.J. (1980). The Ecology of the English Chalk. Academic Press, London.
• Windrum, Andrew (June 1997). "Lincolnshire and Rutland Limestone ( NA38)" (PDF). Natural Areas. English Nature. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-06. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
• Bland ford, Chris. "BIODIVERSITY OPPORTUNITY MAPPING STUDY FOR CENTRAL LINCOLNSHIRE" (PDF). Greater Lincolnshire Nature Partnership. Retrieved 22 June 2014.

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This page was last edited on 5 February 2024, at 18:41