Wildflower Meadows. Survivors from a Golden Age

Taking the most common type of meadow, Margaret Pilkington shows how, with the help of the National Vegetation Classification we can understand the unique collection of plants present and explains the Biodiversity Action Plan for wildflower meadows that it was hoped would ensure no further loss of this special, vulnerable habitat. She gives a clear, concise account of the challenges posed and the practical steps being taken to halt its decline, including the use of ecosystem services to highlight its value. Meadow flowers are adapted to survive and reproduce in grassland that has been managed in a particluar way for centuries. Margaret Pilkington explains the intimate connections between flowers and the insects that visit them, an explanation brought to life in John Pilkington s close-up photographs.