We were honoured on Sunday night to have David Attenborough choose one of our wildflower meadow restoration projects, at Hogchester in West Dorset, to stage the first Wild Isles grassland piece-to-camera. True to this incredibly varied habitat, the images were brimming with colour and vitality, setting the scene for an episode full of enthralling wildlife and scintillating stories.  

The meadow which featured in the opening sequence of the grassland episode is one of many species-rich grasslands that we have created over the last few years, amounting to approximately 100 Ha (a square kilometre) of vital new habitat. In Attenborough’s words ‘almost all grasslands in our Isles are managed by and for people – whether in the future we choose to make room in them for wildlife is up to us’. Working with the many farmers and landowners in our wider countryside keen to make such room for wildlife, we have recreated wildflower meadows to buffer and connect existing wildlife sites and provide habitat for hares, hoverflies and hawks.

Invariably using locally harvested seed for restoration, these freshly fashioned grasslands also serve as ark sites for distinctive and nectar-rich wild flowers like yellow-rattle (Rhinanthus minor), rough hawkbit (Leontodon hispidus), betony (Betonica officinalis) and West Dorset icon corky-fruited water dropwort (Oenanthe pimpinelloides) which surrounded the presenter. It's a particular pleasure to work with Rob Powell at Hogchester in celebrating and spreading flower-rich grasslands, and thankfully, supported by Dorset AONB, Dorset Wildlife Trust have forged a partnership with Hogchester to harvest local West Dorset wildflower seed and restore as many sustaining, sequestering and simply stunning new grassland sites as possible. 

Wild Isles has brought the opportunity to showcase the varied UK habitats in true Attenborough style, with last night’s episode representing grasslands. From the cascading calcareous cliffs of the eastern Purbeck coast to the myriad, magnificent meadows found at Kingcombe Meadows in west Dorset, our county offers a delectably diverse array of grassy terrains stretching right across the county. 

With over 700 soil types in the UK, each influenced by different rock formations within the earth, there is no wonder there is such a variety of grassland habitats. These areas become a unique vegetative Tetris of species, with each plant owning particular adaptations to arrive, survive and thrive in the varying pH and nutrient levels in the ground, determined by these substrates.  

Being at the base of the food web, a mosaic of plants within grasslands provides a haven for a wealth of life. Insects such as butterflies, moths and bees are dependent not only on a nectar source when they are adults, and on the wing, but also the availability of their food plants. Whether species are polyphagous (able to eat a selection of plants) or monophagous (eating only one foodplant), pastures are platters catering for many. Multiple mammals, like the field vole, frequent the undergrowth through a network of interconnecting tunnels; hiding from the swooping predators above. 

You may have seen, from last week's woodland episode, the complex structures that occur beneath our feet whilst walking through a range of habitats, including grasslands. Often referred to as either mycelium, mycorrhizal or fungal networks, these entanglements form more connections between each individual strand (hyphae) than in the human brain. It is thought that underneath each stride, you are stepping on approximately 300 miles of mycelium as it spreads out, deep below the soil surface. They have symbiotic relationships with plants, meaning it is beneficial for both parties; sharing nutrients and water in exchange for sugars created during photosynthesis. They thrive in undisturbed environments, unploughed and unfertilised, where they avoid being torn up and fragmented. We would not have many species of orchid without them, such as the green-winged orchids at Bracketts Coppice nature reserve, as they depend on this previously mentioned symbiosis in order to germinate. The seed reserves do not have enough energy to grow on their own without the fungal helping hand. 

Based at the Kingcombe National Nature Reserve, Kingcombe Meadows is a perfect example of where these ecosystems reside. The nature reserve has a long history of conserving the meadows and pastures which have many designations for wildlife such as Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Since beginning my role there in September, it has been a pleasure maintaining these areas. It becomes even more poignant when finding out that wildflower meadows have suffered a shocking and disappointingly high loss of over 95%. One of the main aims of our habitat management is to act against the constant succession and encroachment of species that we often refer to as scrub, like hawthorn, bramble and blackthorn, that would otherwise cover the grasslands. With the help of Dorset Wildlife Trust volunteers and grazing animals, we are able to cut back and browse scrub, respectively, to keep spaces open. It goes without saying that scrub species are an important part of many ecosystems, providing shelter and food throughout different times of the year, however it is important to ensure that we continue to preserve our grasslands for future generations. 

You couldn’t have a grassland without the iconic buzz of busy-bees, and what better way to represent this than the two-coloured mason bee, (Osmia bicolor). They use discarded shells from snail-eating glowworms in limestone and chalk grasslands, similar to nature reserves like Fontmell Down, Townsend and the Portland quarries. Like chalk grasslands existing for thousands of years, the mason bees seem to use the age-old tradition of thatching to shelter and camouflage their nests. During their mission to find pollen to feed their offspring, they join the other wild species of bee, over 250 of them, that pollinate a third of our food crops. It does not bare thinking about what we would do without them. 

It was exciting to see the reintroduced white-tailed eagles and the large blue butterflies during the episode on Sunday, along with their amazing and complex life cycle. It illustrates that we ARE able to restore our ecosystems which once were and reverse the grueling reminder that many UK species are at risk of extinction; a symbol of hope through their success. To ensure that there is enough habitat for them, and for the rest of nature, it is critical that we maintain, restore and join up the isolated parts of the jigsaw that make up our fragmented landscape. Of course, it is never too late to create space for nature, whether that be in our back gardens or volunteering to encourage and enable landowners to do the same.

In times of such climate uncertainty, it cannot go without saying that grasslands are the unsung heroes of carbon sequestration. Like trees, plants within grasslands will be consistently photosynthesising in sunlight, turning carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into glucose with the energy from the sun. Within the wider global context, trees store a lot their carbon within their biomass which can unfortunately be released during wildfires. On the other hand, the carbon within grasslands tends to be stored underground with some estimates being between 15-30% of the world’s carbon. It is important to not rule these modest ecosystems out as a tool to tackle changing times. Joining, and supporting others to join, movements like #NoMowMay have never been more important. 

During the next few seasons, be sure to immerse yourself in the rustle of yellow-rattle and insect stridulation, the glowing egg-yolk coloured carpets of bird’s foot trefoil and the distinctively warm, luscious smell of meadowsweet. It is fair to say that our grasslands have a lot going for them and we can all do our bit to protect them. 

We will be back next week with another blog covering episode four of Wild Isles and Dorset's pristine freshwater habitats. Catch up on the BBC Wild Isles series on BBC iPlayer.

Co-authored by Conservation Officer, Nick Gray.