Upland Acid Grassland BNG Units
High
Grassland
Trusted by Developers and Landowners
What is Upland Acid Grassland?
Upland Acid Grassland is a mix of fine grasses, mosses and small herbaceous plants adapted to low pH and limited nutrients. This habitat appears as an open grassy landscape, often dominated by mat grass or purple moor grass. Texture and color come from all patches of tormentil, heath bedstraw and scattered mosses.
Why It Matters for BNG
Upland acid grassland offers medium distinctiveness units and supports upland ecological networks. Grazing based management suits upland BNG strategies.
Managing grazing, controlling scrub and maintaining soil acidity enables landowners to supply BNG units from extensive upland pastures.
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Where You'll Find It
Upland acid grassland occurs across upland landscapes where soils remain acidic and nutrient poor. It often sits alongside upland heath, bog habitats, wet rush pasture and scattered scrub. These mosaics contribute to upland ecological connectivity and landscape character.
Soil and Site Requirements
This habitat requires acidic soils below pH 5.5. Soil types range from shallow, free draining mineral soils to deeper peaty deposits on wetter ground. Maintaining low nutrient conditions is essential. Lime, fertiliser or heavy disturbance reduce habitat quality and alter species composition.
How New Upland Acid Grassland Is Created
Inputs
• Maintain soil acidity and avoid lime or nutrient addition
• Encourage natural colonisation from nearby upland grassland
• Introduce characteristic grasses, herbs and mosses where required
• Control invasive species before they establish
Management
• Apply grazing to maintain open structure and prevent scrub encroachment
• Adjust grazing pressure to avoid overgrazing and bare ground
• Retain moisture gradients to support rushes and transitional vegetation
• Allow natural disturbance where it benefits characteristic species
Landscape
• Restore grassland within upland mosaics of heath, bog and wet pasture
• Position restoration where long term grazing agreements can be secured
• Connect isolated grassland areas to strengthen upland habitat networks
How Existing Upland Acid Grassland Is Improved
Inputs
• Remove scrub, bracken or aggressive grasses where they suppress fine grassland
• Restore soil acidity where past management increased pH
• Reduce nutrient inputs from adjacent land or runoff
• Introduce missing herbs or bryophytes where diversity has declined
Management
• Use controlled grazing to maintain species richness
• Manage wetter areas to retain rushes and peat influenced swards
• Monitor plant communities and adjust management to maintain structure
• Prevent succession to woodland or heath where inappropriate
Landscape
• Reconnect fragmented grassland patches across upland slopes
• Restore adjacent upland habitats to increase ecological continuity
• Manage recreational a
Target Condition
Upland acid grassland in its defined BNG condition should:
• Support characteristic grasses such as sheep’s fescue, bent grasses, mat grass and purple moor grass
• Contain herbs such as tormentil and heath bedstraw within a balanced sward
• Maintain low nutrient soils with pH below 5.5
• Present open structure with moss rich patches in suitable areas
• Avoid dominance by scrub, bracken or coarse grasses
• Demonstrate appropriate grazing and natural disturbance
The BNG Value of Upland Acid Grassland
• Distinctiveness: Medium
• Condition Potential: Moderate to high where nutrient control and grazing maintain structure
• Habitat Connectivity: Links upland heath, bogs and wet rush pasture, supporting birds, invertebrates and upland fungi
• Climate and Landscape Context: Contributes to resilient upland ecosystems with stable vegetation adapted to harsh conditions
Species Typical of Upland Acid Grasslands
Canopy or Primary Layer
• Sheep’s fescue (Festuca ovina)
• Bent grasses (Agrostis species)
• Mat grass (Nardus stricta)
• Purple moor grass (Molinia caerulea)
Shrub or Secondary Layer
• Heather (Calluna vulgaris)
• Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus)
• Sparse scrub on habitat margins
Ground Flora or Understorey
• Tormentil (Potentilla erecta)
• Heath bedstraw (Galium saxatile)
• Devil’s bit scabious (Succisa pratensis)
• Common bird’s foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus)
• Common hair cap moss (Polytrichum commune)
• Soft rush (Juncus effusus)
• Sharp flowered rush (Juncus acutiflorus)
• Lesser pond sedge (Carex acutiformis)
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Upland Acid Grassland?
Found at higher altitudes on acidic, nutrient-poor soils, characterized by grasses like Mat Grass (Nardus stricta) and Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus). It is a priority habitat.
How is BNG measured here?
Condition is assessed by the cover of positive indicator species (like Bilberry, heather, or certain mosses) and the extent of aggressive species (like Mat Grass or dense Bracken).
How can I achieve BNG?
Enhancement through appropriate grazing regimes (typically low-intensity) and management to prevent scrub encroachment or erosion.
What is the BNG target condition?
A Good condition is one with a varied sward structure, a good mix of grasses and forbs/dwarf shrubs, and no evidence of heavy erosion.
What management is required?
Low-intensity grazing, often by hardy breeds, is essential to maintain the sward structure and prevent dominance by aggressive grasses. Burning is a traditional, but often controversial, management tool.
Exploring Other Habitats?
Lowland Beech and Yew Woodland
Lowland Beech and Yew Woodland is a priority broadleaved woodland habitat dominated by beech, and in some cases yew, on suitable lowland soils. These woodlands occur mainly on chalk and limestone scarps, as well as neutral and acidic lowland soils where beech has become long established. Many stands are ancient woodland, while others are long-standing secondary woods that now support characteristic beech woodland communities.
The habitat typically supports a closed beech canopy, sometimes with yew forming a secondary layer or pure stands on steep slopes. Ash, whitebeam, oak and holly may also occur depending on soil type and local conditions. Structure and ground flora vary according to geology and management history, reflecting recognised woodland NVC communities.
Wood-pasture and Parkland
Wood-pasture and Parkland are mosaic habitats of open grassland, heath or rough pasture with scattered open-grown trees. These trees are often ancient, veteran or historically pollarded and shaped by long-term grazing.
Unlike closed woodland, this habitat maintains a semi-open structure. Grazing animals prevent canopy closure, creating a landscape of individual trees, scrub clumps and open sward. Veteran trees with decay features such as hollows, rot holes, deadwood, and cavities are central to its ecological value. Animal dung, nectar-rich grassland and structural continuity support specialist fungi, lichens, invertebrates, birds and bats.
Many sites have historic origins in medieval forests, deer parks, and commons.
Upland Oakwood
An Upland Oakwood BNG habitat is an ancient, structurally rich woodland habitat found across the steep valley sides, hillslopes and rocky terrain of upland Britain. It is dominated by sessile oak, often growing alongside downy birch, rowan and hazel, and is characterised by a dense, mossy ground flora shaped by the cool, wet and acidic conditions of the upland zone.
These Woodlands have developed over centuries of low-intensity management and natural regeneration on thin, free-draining or rocky soils. Many are classified as ancient semi-natural woodland, supporting specialist bryophyte and lichen communities of international significance alongside a diverse invertebrate fauna, woodland birds and, in some stands, rare vascular plants.
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