Grassland habitat priorities and potential measures
The Strategy aims to conserve, restore, connect and extend our grassland habitats to deliver high-quality, species-rich areas across the county.
Click on the priorities below to view the associated potential measures. You can download all the grassland priorities and measures in the document at the end of the page. Where a number appears missing, this is because it is associated with a wider measures. Wider measures are not a formal element of the Strategy and are therefore not included in the list below – however they are included in the downloadable measures documents.
- Priority GL1 – Chalk grasslands are safeguarded from land-use changes and other threats and restored to a better, species-rich condition. They are connected and buffered across the landscape to promote ecological integrity and resilience, particularly for the purpose of facilitating species movement in response to climate change.
Potential measure GL1.1 Maintain and enhance core, high-quality and good condition chalk grassland sites through the application of conservation management sensitive to the existing and potential flora and fauna of the site.
Potential measure GL1.2 Increase the extent of high-quality, connected chalk grassland by bringing appropriate sites, adjacent to core/good condition sites, into conservation management.
Potential measure GL1.3 Increase functional links between chalk grassland and other habitats to maximise nature-based solutions offered by improved connectivity.
- Priority GL2 – Existing coastal and floodplain grazing marsh restored to better condition and retaining more freshwater, with sensitive areas, and the breeding waders they support, protected from land management and recreational disturbance. Opportunities taken to create and extend areas of this habitat and increase its climate resilience.
Potential measure GL2.1 Increase opportunities to store winter water on land adjacent to grazing marsh to increase opportunities for ‘wetting’ during spring/summer.
Potential measure GL2.2 Deliver grazing marsh habitat restoration, extension and creation where it will offer the greatest gains to support the county’s important
grazing marsh flora and fauna and is designed to minimise recreational disturbance and reduce risk from predation.Potential measure GL2.3 Reconnect rivers with their former natural floodplain and improve the water storage ability of floodplain in order to protect against climate change impacts and drought.
- Priority GL3 : Existing species-rich lowland meadow is safeguarded from loss, restored to better condition and extended through sensitive land management practices to reduce soil nutrient levels. Through the extension of lowland meadow, this habitat is better connected, reducing the risk of isolated meadow species and declines in species richness.
Potential measure GL3.1 Maintain and enhance core, high-quality and good condition lowland meadow sites through the application of grazing/cutting regimes sensitive
to the existing and potential flora and fauna of the site.Potential measure GL3.2 Increase the extent of high-quality, connected lowland meadow by creating new lowland meadow sites, in close proximity to core/good condition sites.
Potential measure GL3.4 Establish neutral grasslands on floodplains, to create resilience to flooding and drought and protect water quality.
- Priority GL4 – Retain, restore and extend the county’s acid grassland and heathland habitat mosaics, to improve the species diversity that these habitats, with limited extent in Kent and Medway, support.
Potential measure GL4.1 Implement appropriately designed acid grassland management that prevents succession into secondary woodland and scrub encroachment. Management ensures that acid grassland is maintained and retained but not at the expense of the mosaic’s heathland resource. The grazing regime provides maximum diversity and a combination of larger open areas and smaller mosaic glades to provide habitat for breeding birds, reptiles and invertebrates. Climate resilience is built into management.
Potential measure GL4.2 Create new acid grassland sites from improved grassland and former arable sites.
- Priority GL5 – Safeguard, restore and increase fields with a diversity and abundance of arable wild plants.
Potential measure GL5.3 Design and deliver location and soil-appropriate projects, targeted in the richest arable plant areas and on a variety of soil types, to create large new areas dedicated to the promotion of arable wild plant diversity and abundance.
Grassland priorities - potential measures and wider measures
Grassland Priorities – Potential Measures and Wider Measures
Download PDF (71 KB) - Grassland Priorities And Potential Measures
Searchable potential measures and wider measures listings - all priorities
Searchable potential measures listing
Searchable wider measures listing
