The second edition of the Lowland Grassland Management Handbook was published in 1999. It was a joint initiative between four major partners, The Wildlife Trusts, English Nature, the Countryside Council for Wales and Scottish Natural Heritage.

The handbook offers practical advice on grassland management geared at site managers and conservation advisors. It covers lowland grasslands occurring below the upper limit of enclosure (�the moor wall�) and in particular the following five major Biodiversity Action Plan priority grassland types:

• Lowland hay meadows (and pastures)


• Upland hay meadows


• Lowland calcareous grassland


• Lowland acid grassland


• Purple moor-grass & rush pastures

The handbook covers topics such as grazing, mowing, scrub management, grassland creation, weed control and management for specific species assemblages.

Other complementary information sources include the Practical Solutions Handbook 2nd edition and the Breeds Profiles Handbook (both published by English Nature on behalf of the FACT and GAP groups).

Advice on the management of upland unenclosed grasslands can be found in the Upland Management Handbook and for management advice on coastal & floodplain grazing marsh and lowland wet grasslands, the Wet Grassland Guide published by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is an invaluable reference source.

The partner organisations are keen to ensure the handbook is used widely and are content for parts to be reproduced for educational purposes provided the source is acknowledged.

Please note that this publication is now out of print, and is available as a download only.