On a SSSI just south of Birmingham, we have worked with our client to enhance MG5 meadow grassland. The area consists of 21 fields, incorporating meadows, hedges, marshes, open water, woodland and scrub. Meadows contain some of the UK’s richest grassland flora, however, some of the grassland types have declined severely during the 20th century nationwide, and are now rarely found.
Due to the extension of Birmingham Airport, some of the area is being lost in the development, so the MG5 grassland must be reinstated elsewhere.
In order to maintain the grassland we have flailed and mulched vegetation on a receptor site, hay-cut areas of the site, rotovated the soil, and sprayed areas of Japanese knotweed. We have brush-harvested seeds from elsewhere on the site, which we will be sowing next year to recreate the species-rich grassland.
