Conservation Grazing at the Langdon Ridge SSSI

33.5ha including 25ha grassland and 6.4ha secondary woodland will be enclosed in two large areas and “nofence” collars used to undertake landscape-scale conservation grazing. In grasslands, which range from species-rich to species-poor hay meadows, project enables significantly improved management outcomes and efficiency of grazing operations, and allows us to move away from damaging mechanical management techniques. The project woodlands are species and structurally poor secondary woodland established mid-late 20th Century; ash is predominant, and all affected by dieback. Grazing these woodlands for the first time takes control of inevitable coming changes and ensures positive outcomes rather than allowing cherry laurel and sycamore to dominate, as would happen without intervention, beginning a controlled transition to a diverse, open-structured wood-pasture habitat. Significant site-wide benefits will result to wildflower/invert populations and diversity, and habitat connectivity.