What research at Glenthorne is teaching us about bringing native grasslands back
Native grasslands can be surprisingly difficult to bring back. Even after farming or other land uses have ended, land use legacies can remain in the soil, favouring weeds and making it difficult for diverse native plants to re-establish.
Research from the Glenthorne Grassland Project, published in Restoration Ecology (doi:10.1111/rec.70564) , explored how different approaches to site preparation can help overcome these barriers. The study compared removing existing vegetation, solarising the soil, and removing the topsoil before sowing a diverse mix of 41 native grassland species.
The results were striking. Topsoil removal produced the strongest recovery of native plant diversity, particularly the wildflowers and other forbs that are more difficult to restore. Solarisation also improved native diversity after 18 months, but its benefits were more modest and largely favoured native grasses.
The research shows that restoring a grassland isn’t simply about putting native seed back into the landscape. It is also about creating the conditions that allow those seeds to succeed.
