Meadows face mounting risks from poor legal protection, and from land abandonment and undergrazing, sometimes in the name of rewilding according to Plantlife research released today.

Wildflower meadows are some of our rarest and most species-rich habitats, home to nearly half our entire flora but occupying less than 1% of the UK’s land cover. 'Early succession’ habitats such as these require sufficient levels of grazing and management to keep them viable. The research reveals that 611 plant species of 1,543 analysed (40%) will decline within a decade if the land is entirely abandoned, with 127 of these (16.4%) declining within three years. Three quarters of our most threatened species - including burnt-tip orchid, pasqueflower and crested cow-wheat - decline or disappear within three years if all management and grazing is removed.

Commenting on the findings, Dr Trevor Dines, Botanical Specialist, Plantlife, said: “Total land abandonment now poses the greatest threat to plant diversity as it removes the brake on succession: left entirely to their own devices most open landscapes in the UK will change from grassland to scrub and, ultimately, to woodland as large plants reach for the light and outcompete smaller, more delicate species. Grazing and disturbance ‘re-set’ this ecological clock, allowing these fabulous early-succession flowers to thrive in open ground flooded with sunlight.

“Too much interference can be just as damaging as abandonment”, noted Dines. “Our most intensively managed farmland – 46% of land cover - provides the bleakest arena for plants, supporting just 85 species.”

The eradication of wildflower meadows, botanically richer than any other habitat, has been staggering; 97% have been lost since the 1930s. 75% of remaining meadows occur in small fragments and remain vulnerable to destruction.

On the eve of National Meadows Day , which sees events including scything workshops and orchid hunts take place across the UK, Dines added: “Early succession habitats like meadows can support 770 species of flowering plants and are a botanical treasure trove able to enrich a wonderful wealth of wildlife: nearly 1,400 species of pollinators and other insects rely on meadow plants for their survival. And meadows are more than just havens for wildlife; they contribute greatly to carbon sequestration and capturing floodwaters. That species-rich grasslands now constitute only a paltry 1% of the UK land area is a tragedy. It is a scandal that’s there’s no national inventory of meadows to sit alongside our Ancient Woodland Inventory - until meadows are identified they remain at greatest risk.”

Plantlife recognises that the reinstatement of natural dynamic processes into landscapes through rewilding has the potential to bring huge benefits. Rewilded areas can deliver a mosaic of micro-habitats ideal for plant and animal life; many invertebrates, for example, move from the shelter of woodland and scrub into open sunny meadows to feed, pollinate and lay their eggs. It is this rich mixture of habitats that is proving so vital for our highly threatened wildlife.

Dines said: “Any rewilding scenario should ideally deliver enough grazing and disturbance to support all these species. Plants may appear rooted to the spot but they are actually always on the move and thrive best when engaged in the wider hustle and bustle wrought by a degree of light management and grazing. Total abandonment can produce a ‘succession paradox’, whereby plant diversity actually declines as scrub (19% of land cover) and woodland (12% of land cover) develop. In our understandable rush to rewild some landscapes, we must ensure the remaining 1% of species-rich grassland and meadows are better protected and that an additional 120,000 hectares are restored and created by 2043.”

“We need a roots up as well as tooth down approach to rewilding. The dramatic impact that reintroducing charismatic animals into the landscape can have has occupied much of the rewilding debate, but the reintroduction of some keystone plant species can be just as spectacular. Semi-parasitic yellow rattle is a ‘meadow maker’ with an unrivalled ability to act as 'nature's lawnmower', limiting dense grass growth and allowing more delicate wildflowers like lesser butterfly orchids, tormentil and betony to flourish.”

Under the Grassland Action Plan Plantlife is calling for much better legal protection for meadows to save wildflowers and the billions of bees, bugs and butterflies they support. In addition to campaigning to save and protect meadows, Plantlife will spearhead a drive to restore 120,000 hectares of species-rich grassland by 2043.