How was success measured?
The best measure of the success of the Project is the effect it had on the habitats and species of the area. This was measured in two ways:
1. Condition assessment
Bird's-eye primroseThe whole of the 11,000 hectare Project area was surveyed in 2002 using a technique called Condition Assessment. This looks at the plants in each priority habitat and assesses them against standard criteria to see whether they are in favourable or unfavourable botanical condition.
The survey was repeated in 2006 which meant that the two assessments could be compared to see if the habitats were recovering or declining. The results showed that:
Cowside, Arncliffe-Malham
Grass of ParnassusThe proportion of calcareous grassland and limestone pavement that was recovering was higher on land with Project cattle than elsewhere in the Limestone Country area.
The proportion of calcareous grassland and limestone pavement that was declining was lower on land with Project cattle than elsewhere in the Limestone Country area.
The amount of alkaline fen in favourable condition was maintained and the amount that was in an unfavourable recovering condition increased on land with Project cattle, whereas it was assessed as declining elsewhere in the Limestone Country area.
2. Scientific assessment
Blue Grey cattle wearingsatellite tracking collars
as part of the Newcastle
University project
The Project also employed Newcastle University to carry out a more detailed scientific assessment of the three grazing regimes in the Project. Using a variety of different sampling techniques in two periods (2003 and 2006) they showed that:
The diversity of plant species that are most typical of Limestone Country habitats (known as indicator species) were higher in calcareous grassland and limestone pavement grazed with cattle rather than sheep.
