Flourishing floodplains

The Severn Vale area has been identified as a hotspot nationally for diverse wet wildflower meadows (floodplain meadows). Their varied plants and abundant flowering species support a wealth of pollinating insects, however the value of floodplain meadows goes beyond their beauty and wildlife –in agricultural terms floodplain meadows are naturally productive without artificial fertilisers, remain productive during droughts and provide valuable nutrients and minerals for grazing animals. After this past winter any of you with fields damaged by the long term flooding may not be viewing them with such favour, however fields that have always been meadows contain plant species that have been selected by environmental conditions and given time are able to recover from flooding, despite short term changes to the plants present. Floodplain meadows deliver wider benefits too or ‘public goods’ such as storing floodwaters, sequestering carbon and keeping soil and nutrients out of rivers and helping to protect water quality.

FWAG is working with others to try and understand where these nationally rare meadows still can be found in the Vale, particularly the corridor of low-lying land along the Severn from Gloucester to Tewkesbury. Surveying meadows across this area is essential, and knowing what habitat is there allows us to plan on how we can help expand it further.