Meadows and Wetlands

Meadows

The term ‘meadow’ is often used for any grass field, although strictly speaking a meadow is an area managed to produce hay, or more often nowadays, silage. Hay meadows (e.g. Le Noir Pré) often contain dozens of different species of grasses and wildflowers, which produce a riot of colour during springtime or early summer. These in turn support a wealth of insect life, notably butterflies (as can be seen in Fern Valley), as well as abundant small mammals such as mice and voles, which provide food for hunters like Kestrels or Barn Owls. Meadows are also important for their ground nesting birds, such as Skylarks and Meadow Pipits.

There are many different types of meadow, and management practices varied, but generally a meadow would have been mown for hay in summer, often in mid to late July. Hay was vital to the agricultural economy, as it sustained the farmer’s livestock and draft animals throughout the winter months. After all the hay had been gathered in, livestock, (traditionally cattle in Jersey) were usually turned out to graze on the ‘aftermath’. Their dung and urine would fertilise the meadow, and their trampling would help encourage some of the meadow plants to germinate from seed.

Traditional hay meadows occur throughout Europe, but they are fast disappearing due to changes in farming practices; it is estimated that the United Kingdom has lost over 95% of its flower-rich meadows since 1945. Here in Jersey, many former hay meadows have been turned into potato fields, whilst others now contain monocultures of quick-growing rye grass, used for silage, instead of the host of grasses and wildflower species they would once have supported. A farmer can now produce several annual crops of silage instead of one crop of hay, and furthermore, silage production is much less reliant on dry weather.

Wetlands

The term ‘wetland’ is used for a variety of different vegetation types, ranging from wet grasslands through to reed-beds and peat bogs. Wet grasslands are often lush and very rich in plant life, and they may be highly colourful throughout spring and summer, when a succession of bright wildflowers such as Yellow Flag, Marsh Orchids and Ragged Robin are in bloom. Wet grasslands are also very important for birds, both as feeding and nesting areas. Snipe, Curlew and Lapwing are just three of the more common wader species which can be seen on wet grassland sites such as the Trust’s land adjacent to La Mare au Seigneur.

Traditionally, some wet grasslands were managed as hay meadows, while others were grazed, usually by cattle. Grazing often produces a range of vegetation heights, which favours a variety of different bird species.

Reed-beds form the other main type of wetland to be found on National Trust for Jersey owned sites. They are dominated by Common Reed (Phragmites australis), a tall and impressive plant which forms large stands in shallow water and on very wet ground, as for example at Les Maltieres. A variety of sedge and rush species may also occur within, or more often, on the edges of the reed-bed.

Reed-beds are an essential habitat for many bird species. Some of these species rarely, if ever, breed elsewhere. These include a variety of warblers (such as the Cetti’s Warbler, which is often heard in the reed-beds around La Mare au Seigneur), the Bearded Reedling, Reed Bunting and the rare and spectacular Marsh Harrier and Bittern.