Protection of habitats by land purchase

Background

High Nature Value landscapes are fragile. Application of artificial fertilizers would seriously damage or destroy the wildflower meadows, allowing coarse or vigorous grasses to invade. The most substantial threats to wild plants and animals and their habitats in HNV landscapes are:

• intensification of grassland management, with nutrient over-enrichment by fertilizers or high stocking rates, or over-grazing, especially by sheep
• abandonment of land and cessation of traditional land management practices such as mowing or scrub clearance

Project Objectives

• Protection by purchase of blocks of land if high biodiversity value, that are threatened by land management changes.
• Design a model for the conservation of HNV farmed landscapes to protect them and the vital ecosystem services they provide.