Outcome NR5 – grassland species

Key research interests include, but are not limited to:

How do invertebrates, wildflowers, soil fungi etc., which are supported by HNV farming systems fare under different regimes?
How effective has hay meadow restoration work been – using green hay, plug planting etc?
How much species-rich hay meadow do we have, did we have? Is it in decline still?
What are the risks of transporting seed/plants/green hay from further afield. What are the risks of not doing so?
Are we seeing climate induced species turnover in grasslands (e.g. upland haymeadows).

To what extent can other systems – regenerative farming, extensive grazing around wood pasture establishment – support the species currently reliant on HNV farming, and/or what other species might benefit under these alternative systems?
What can we say about the impacts of different types of grassland management on carbon storage, sequestration, water infiltration, run-off rates, root depth and soil biology and chemistry? What metrics might we start to use to quantify the benefits of rotational or extensive grazing on these public goods?
What is best practice for maximising soil invertebrate activity and reducing worm counts in livestock, taking into account variables such as weather, stock type and breed, rotational or other grazing systems, use of faecal egg count technology.
What is the current usage of compounds like Avermectins, and what effect is it having on soil and invertebrate biology?
What might be the wider environmental benefits, and any costs, of silicate substitutes for lime application on grasslands?

Can we effect positive change through a regular cut and collect of all road verges - by reducing nutrient build up?
What effect does this have on invertebrate communities?

Where is species-rich acid grassland and how has it survived where it has?
Is purple moor grass rush pasture accurately mapped in the North Pennines and what is its value for nature and flood management?