14 - Meadows

Meadows are the subject of episode 14. Not just that bit of green, that flashes by as we look out of the car window. The subject is a vast one; in this podcast, we take an overview of the different types of meadows. These open areas of our countryside may look empty but, on land and sea, they are full of life and diversity. We consider how important they are, and what it could mean if we lose this valuable habitat. Join us as we take a wander through the fascinating world. Do reach out on social media if you have any questions.

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Transcript

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Welcome. You're listening to Mark and Jackie's wildlife and photography podcast. Explore and learn about the natural world and how to take pictures. This episode is all about wildlife and nature. Understanding the natural world is important. It's what makes life on this planet possible. Our podcast gives you insight into just how complicated and fascinating this world is. Episode 14 Meadows, in this episode, we're talking about Meadows. I never knew there was so much to learn about Meadows, but listen on as we take a wander through this fascinating world. Flowers have been in our lives for thousands of generations, and these days we've all but taken them for granted. But they are steeped in history and mysticism. From the Roman Times to the present day, flowers have been used for medicine, love missives, healing balms the list goes on. But it's not only Land Meadows. Don't forget about beneath our feet, the seagrass meadows. They are particularly good carbon sinks and provide nurseries for many marine species. In fact, the UK has lost 90% of its seagrass meadows. But we're going to more about that later. We have a relationship with the land and sea. We need to listen to what it tells us and what we can learn. Many stories are connected to myths and legends, but they tell us much about ourselves and how we once lived and worked with all living things in harmony and empathy. Now, if you look at the word, the meaning of the word meadow up. A meadow is an open habitat or field vegetated by grasses, herbs and other non woody plants can be naturally occurring or artificially created. As a group, meadow habitats are characterized as semi-natural grasslands. They are largely composed of species native to a particular region with limited human intervention. Plants and flowers have been the basis for many medicines and drugs that we take today without these, where would we be? However, we are destroying the land that they inhabit. We need to understand their importance as part of the web of life. Think it doesn't matter? Think again. In the UK, we have lost 97% of all Wildflower Meadow since World War two and about 90% of our seagrass meadows. On a global scale that equates to about 35%. Both these elements are part of our ecosystem. The ecological importance is not to be underestimated. There are multiple types of meadows agricultural, transitional, perpetual and seagrass. Each plays an important part of our ecosystem. They attract an amazing array of wildlife and support plants that would not survive in other habitats. They provide a place for animals to hold courtship displays, nesting areas and food gathering. Changes in the climate are having significant impact on these vital areas of the ecosystem. Meadows can mitigate against changes and can be a potentially useful carbon sinks. Let's look at the different types of Meadow in more detail. We've got agricultural. These meadows are those that are grassland not regularly grazed by domestic livestock. They are left unchecked to produce hay. If we look back in history, agricultural meadows first came into existence during the Iron Age, when tools to carry out the hay harvest were first used. Having the ability to produce food for livestock meant the animals could be kept in enclosures, surplus produce in the summer was stored for winter, thereby preventing damage to other habitats such as forest and grassland. The need to graze animals during winter months had gone. Traditional hay meadows were once common, but are now very much in decline. We have very small, fragmented areas. In America, the Sierra Nevada in the US is home to some of the nation's largest, biologically richest and most functional meadows. Similar to a hay meadow is pasture land, this differs in that it is allowed to be grazed by livestock throughout the summer rather than being left to grow and cut for hay. The word pasture is used to describe any land used for the purpose of grazing. This includes non grass habitats such as heathland, moorland and wood pasture. Meadows have lost their original purpose due to modern agricultural methods. As of 2019, permanent meadows and pastures in China represented 392000 hectares. That accounts for 12.3% of the world's permanent meadows and pastures in the top five countries account for 41.6%. Well, now look at transitional meadows, as the name suggests, this type is not permanent. It is land that has been cleared but not cut or grazed. And an abundance of growth is seen. Grasses and wildflower self seed. However, as the grasses become shaded out by scrub and woody plants, it returns to a wooded state. Sometimes a traditional meadow can be artificially maintained through the double field system. Cultivation of soil and meadows are alternated over a number of years. In North America, Native Americans regularly cleared an area of forest to create transitional meadows. So that deer and game could find food and be hunted. Some of today's meadows can trace their origin back to the activity of Native Americans. The next type is perpetual. This type of meadow is often referred to as a natural meadow. One, where conditions, climatic and soil are favorable to perennial grasses that restrict the wood plants growing. The types of perpetual meadow or Alpine. Which means it's at high elevations above the tree line, and it's maintained by harsh climatic conditions. Coastal, which is maintained by salt sprays. Desert, which is lack of nutrients and humus, which is the organic matter in the soil. Prairies, which is maintained by periods of drought or wildfires. And wet, as the name suggests, it's saturated with water. Urban Meadows. Recent thinking is that urban areas are potentially biodiversity conservation sites. As the name suggests, these are areas near towns and cities. Encouraging urban areas to change to Meadows can only be good. They provide a refuge for plant and animal communities. Too much management has happened on these urban meadows. By changing the number of times these areas are mown it can improve the diversity. So letting councils or getting councils to not cut verges will improve the diversity for the plants and animals. As I mentioned at the beginning, we should not forget seagrasses. Sometimes called prairies of the sea. They are underwater ecosystems formed by seagrass consisting of saltwater plants found in shallow coastal waters. The same as land meadows, they produce seeds and pollen being anchored to the floor by roots and rhizomes. Seagrass meadows capture up to 83 million metric tons of carbon each year, the equivalent to the carbon admitted by approximately 61 million passenger cars in a year. These dense underwater meadows are some of the most productive ecosystems in the world, providing habitats and food for marine life. Similar to that of coral reefs. During coastal storms, they provide protection, by the way, their leaves absorb energy from the waves. But did you know that seagrass meadows slow climate change by storing carbon dioxide into the sea floor? Human and climate changes have a great effect on these underwater meadows. There's ecological consequences. Increased temperature, changing precipitation patterns, reduced snow pack and earlier melting. Effects of higher temperature, effects of changing precipitation patterns, effects of the reduced snow pack and effects on ecological communities. We're coming to the end and some takeaways from this podcast. Perhaps we should use the phrase plant and animal communities in our communication. And another reason for rewilding in a connected fashion. If you'd like to hear more about rewilding, please have a listen to episode twelve of our podcast. My name is Jacky Bloomfield. And thank you for listening. You've been listening to a wildlife and photography podcast produced by M&J Bloomfield. For more information and details about us and our work, visit our website at mandjbloomfield dot com. Thank you for listening, and we hope you will join us again soon. Chun an sin, mar sin leat.