Nurturing nature: how grassland restoration supports biodiversity conservation
Mebrat Teklemariam Gebrekidan
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26 August 202510:00
Grasslands are incredibly important for wildlife, and play a crucial role in the world around us. Mebrat Teklemariam Gebrekidan PhD, one of our Green Team volunteers, explains the difference our grasslands make, how we're caring for them on the Tyne Derwent Way, and what we can all do to preserve them for the future.
Currently the world is facing biodiversity loss and climate crises. Both influence each other, which is why they must be tackled together.
Biodiversity is the variety of life in a place. Grasslands are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet, providing various niches and microhabitats that support different species, including insects, birds, mammals, and fungi.
The many values of grasslands
It has been reported that grasslands cover 40% of the world's terrestrial surface and their conservation and restoration are critical to combat both the biodiversity and climate crises. Recent studies show that grasslands store approximately one third of the Earth's carbon stocks and can act as an important soil carbon sink (somewhere that absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it releases).
Grasslands provide direct economic, social, cultural, and aesthetic values (beauty) - they're crucial for supporting wildlife and are important for people.
They conserve tremendous biodiversity, and fulfill essential ecosystem services, such as regulating the climate, managing water, and nutrient cycling, which is the movement of nutrients from the physical environment to living organisms and back to the environment.
Restoring grassland through sustainable practices can generally help to balance multiple services such as:
cultural (cultural identity, spiritual experiences, aesthetic appreciation and recreation)
provisioning (wildlife habitat, water supply, production of materials)
regulation (carbon sequestration, erosion control, water flow regulation, nutrient retention and pollinator services)
How Green Team volunteers are improving our environment
As caretakers of our environment, Gateshead's citizen scientists of the Tyne Derwent Way Green Team recognise that adopting grassland restoration practices in Swalwell, and other areas along the Tyne Derwent Way route, is essential to harmonise land management with biodiversity needs. This balance contributes to biodiversity conservation efforts, fostering healthy ecosystems and supporting a diverse array of plant and animal life.
On Saturday 16 August, Green Team volunteers carried out some work to restore grasslands and enhance local biodiversity along the nine-mile route.
Initial conditions and site preparation activities for grassland restoration were guided by the magnificent professionals from Wild Intrigue - the nature experts and consultants to the Tyne Derwent Way project. A fundamental species survey in and on the edge of the grassland being restored was conducted successfully. Despite its small size, a diversified taxa (groups of organisms that are classified together based on shared characteristics) were recorded:
herbaceous plants such as Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata)
Lords and Ladies (Arummaculatum)
Cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris)
Hog weed (Heracleum sphondylium)
Nettle (Urtica dioica)
Red Campion (Silene dioica)
Herb Robert (Geranium robertianium)
Vetch (Vicia sativa)
In addition the edge of the site is a home for various shrubs and tree species including Brambles (Rubus fruticosus)
Elder (Sambucus nigra)
Plums (Prunus domestica)
Rosehip (Rosa rugosa)
Sloe (Prunus spinosa)
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
Hazel (Corylus avellana)
We also found some toads, frogs, insects and bird species among the inhabitants of the site identified during the survey.
The team also removed overgrown scrub and cut the grasses to prepare the site ready for restoration through sowing wildflower seeds. Cuttings were collected and composted; if they are left where they are, they can expose nutrient-rich soil, which may become dominated by weeds or coarse grasses.
What we can all do about the decline of grasslands
Several biodiversity research findings demonstrate that the future of grasslands depends both on the legacy of the past and how they are currently used. However, did you know thatlarge declines of grasslands have occurred in the UK? As guardians of the natural world, it's our responsibility to protect and preserve biodiversity for future generations. By recognising the importance of grassland restoration in biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, we can take proactive steps to nurture healthy ecosystems, support native species, and create habitats that sustain life in all its diversity.
There's a wise saying about the generational stewardship of nature: "We Do Not Inherit the Earth from Our Ancestors; We Borrow It from Our Children".
Together, we can make a real difference to preserving our natural world while enjoying the beauty of well-maintained land.
