Wildflower meadow creation in West Oxfordshire

On a family-run farm near Chipping Norton, a 5.36-hectare arable field was strategically chosen by TOE for biodiversity uplift through the Biodiversity Net Gain initiative. Adjacent on three sides to a Conservation Target Area, and with lime-rich soils, the site was well placed to create some good-quality lowland calcareous grassland, which is a Priority Habitat in the UK.

The site

The site was traditionally managed in rotation under the Countryside Stewardship scheme for livestock grazing, spring barley and overwinter stubble. Under this regime, the field was receiving 40kg of fertiliser after the spring seeding each year. This project will establish and maintain wildflower meadow, without the use of fertilisers, to produce a habitat of high ecological value.

the plan

Over the first few years of the project the nutrient content of the soil will need to be gradually stripped after years of fertiliser accumulation. This will be done by removing all the straw from the late summer cut. Using a combination of green hay collected from a nearby wildflower meadow and additional mixed wildflower seed mix, the field will be re-sown. Once the neutral grassland has been established, the field can then enter a traditional management regime to promote the establishment of the wildflowers. This will involve rotational grazing of livestock from early spring to early summer, carefully monitored to ensure that poaching and overgrazing does not negatively affect the sward. Information from the annual ecological assessments might necessitate some tweaking of the adaptive management strategy to ensure the project is meeting its biodiversity goals. With careful management, plants that were once common in Cotswold grassland that have dwindled in the 20th Century due to farming intensity will return.

Luckily for this site, the landowner has an excellent track record of farming for nature. They have established a similar site using similar management over 15 years which now has many flower species, including pyramidal and common spotted orchids. This field is now listed on Defra’s magic map as a priority habitat and where they will source their green hay for the repopulation of wildflowers at the new site!