Minister for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan has today (Thursday, May 23), launched the “Grasslands Trail” – a tour through the diversity of Ireland’s semi-natural grasslands.
The trail features a network of nine sites around Ireland and allows locals and visitors to gain a better understanding of endangered pasture and meadow habitats.
The grasslands included in the trail are known as semi-natural grasslands because they are not used for intensive agriculture, but they are still dependent on some human management.
Minister Noonan launched the initiative at one of the Grassland Trail sites, the Slieve Carran Nature Reserve in the Burren National Park, Co. Clare as part of National Biodiversity Week.
All of these sites are managed sensitively, with nature conservation and grassland diversity in mind. The nine semi-natural grasslands included in the Grasslands Trail are:
- Castletown House, Celbridge, Co. Kildare;
- Tymon Park, Tallaght, Co. Dublin;
- Glengarriff Nature Reserve, Glengarriff, Co. Cork;
- Farmland at ‘The Rocks’ near Taughmaconnell, Co. Roscommon;
- Sheskinmore Nature Reserve near Ardara, Co. Donegal;
- Newbridge House and Farm Donabate, Co. Dublin;
- Slieve Carran/ Keelhilla Nature Reserve part of Burren National Park, Co. Clare;
- Doneraile Estate Doneraile, Co. Cork;
- Ballycastle Golf Course Ballycastle, Co. Antrim.
A booklet containing information on semi-natural grasslands in Ireland, including features on all nine trail sites, and key principles for management grasslands, is available online.
Grasslands
Ireland has a wide array of different grassland types, including dry, wet and coastal grasslands, hay meadows, farmland and woodland pastures.
They can be some of the most species-rich habitats, with many wildflowers, orchids, and insects such as grasshoppers and butterflies thriving in grasslands. In fact, many species need open spaces to survive.
These habitats provide food and shelter for farmland birds such as Corncrakes, Yellowhammers, Barn Owls and Skylarks. They are also an important climate resource as they can capture and store carbon.
Grasslands also help to provide clean water in streams and rivers, and can even prevent flooding as they hold water in times of extreme rainfall.
Recent research from the National Parks and Wildlife Park (NPWS) showed that over a ten-year period, some of Ireland’s most valuable semi-natural grasslands in Ireland declined by almost 30%.
Factors contributing to these losses include conversion for intensive agriculture and “abandonment”. The NPWS stressed that without management, most of these grasslands would decrease in quality or turn to scrub or woodland.
Appropriate levels of management include extensive, rather than intensive, levels of grazing and mowing, low or no use of fertilisers and pesticides, and no ploughing or reseeding. These factors allow a diversity of plants and animals to thrive, the NPWS said.
Grassland Trail
“Our natural grasslands act as reservoirs for biodiversity. Their decline in recent years is a serious cause for concern because of the variety of beautiful birds, insects and flowers that depend on them for survival,” the minister said.
All of the sites featured in trail show that through sensitive management, such as extensive grazing through a farming-for-nature approach, the disappearance of these grasslands can be prevented, Minister Noonan added.
In addition to their biodiversity and climate benefits, grasslands are “hugely beneficial” to our health and wellbeing, the minister, who hopes that the trail encourages people to visit, understand and appreciate their value, said.
NPWS grassland ecologist, Dr. Maria Long added: “The Grasslands Trail is a great opportunity to invite people to visit these sites, to experience biodiverse grasslands, and perhaps to re-calibrate a little”.