SoNaRR 2025: Semi-natural grassland

Natural Resources Wales

This webpage is part of the State of Natural Resources Report 2025

Semi-natural grasslands fall into five broad categories, developed in response to local climate, soil, hydrology, geology, and management: acid, neutral, calcareous, marshy and the rare calaminarian grassland. Semi-natural grasslands occur in both upland and lowland situations.

Key messages

  • Semi-natural grasslands are vitally important for biodiversity and provide a range of key ecosystem services such as pollination, clean air and water, and a supply of sustainably produced food. They capture and store large amounts of soil carbon and have the potential to retain even more if managed to restore their natural diversity of plants and soil fungi. 
  • The resilience of semi-natural grasslands has not improved since 2020. Grassland priority habitat is still being lost, and site condition, especially in the lowlands, is generally poor, mainly due to under-grazing. Semi-natural grasslands remain the most fragmented of all ecosystems. 
  • Semi-natural grasslands are impacted by a wide range of ongoing pressures, in particular undermanagement, as well as agricultural intensification, atmospheric nitrogen pollution and climate change. Areas of unmapped grassland habitat are highly vulnerable to land use change, including for forestry, energy generation and housing.
  • The condition, protection and monitoring of grassland sites urgently requires increased investment and focus. Many sites which were identified as needing ‘priority protection’ decades ago are still not legally protected; even within protected sites, only 9% of all grassland features are considered to be in ‘favourable condition’.
  • There have been notable successes from local grassland projects and initiatives, but a lack of a coordinated approach to improving grassland resilience at scale and over the long term. The Sustainable Farming Scheme is a key opportunity for improving grassland resilience across Wales, should it be sufficiently resourced and well targeted. 

Assessment of SMNR

This semi-natural grassland assessment is one of eight ecosystem and three natural resource assessments that inform the overall SoNaRR2025 report. It builds on the findings of SoNaRR2020, drawing together updated evidence from subject experts, national datasets, and assessments.

Related assessments include enclosed farmland and mountain, moorland and heath as well as evidence about drivers of environmental change, such as land and sea use and management change.

The assessment is structured around four interlinked aims that guide Wales’ progress toward the sustainable management of natural resources (SMNR), helping to communicate the relationship between the environment, well-being, and the economy. 

Aim 1: Stocks of natural resources are safeguarded and enhanced

Semi-natural grasslands in Wales continue to be lost through agricultural intensification, although the rate of those losses is thought to have reduced in recent years.

There are also recent examples of grassland habitat being lost through land-use change, including from afforestation and built development/infrastructure, although woodland verification and planning controls generally limit such losses.

Undermanagement remains the main cause of poor condition of semi-natural grasslands, and grassland habitats are under sustained pressure from invasive species, air pollution, and climate change. Non-native plants like cotoneaster and Himalayan balsam threaten native biodiversity, with their spread expected to worsen if there is insufficient intervention. Airborne pollutants such as ammonia and nitrogen oxides exceed critical loads across most grassland types, altering soil chemistry and reducing species diversity. Climate change is disrupting plant and animal life cycles, with evidence of mismatches between flowering times and pollinator activity and declines in moth and bryophyte populations. These pressures collectively degrade the ecological integrity of grassland habitats.

Efforts to safeguard and enhance semi-natural grasslands include management interventions on statutory sites and via agri-environment schemes, targeted invasive species control, pollution reduction, and climate adaptation strategies - however progress is often limited by insufficient resources. Only 10% of grassland priority habitat is under statutory protection, and new SSSI designations since 2020 have been limited. Regulatory improvements and clearer guidance need to be more fully implemented. Without increased investment and management, the outlook to 2050 remains one of continued deterioration, particularly in the face of intensifying climate impacts and land-use pressures.

Aim 2: Ecosystems are Resilient to Expected and Unforeseen Change

Resilience in semi-natural grasslands is assessed through diversity, extent, condition, and connectivity.

Lowland semi-natural grasslands are much reduced in their extent compared to less than 100 years ago and remain the most fragmented of all ecosystems. The grassland habitat patches that remain are often affected by poor condition, with management neglect/undermanagement, and undergrazing in particular, the main cause.

Reduced extent, poor connectivity, and poor condition all effect diversity, for example low connectivity means that less mobile grassland species cannot move easily through the landscape. Diversity is currently low in lowland areas and medium in the uplands, with both showing declining trends.

Grassland habitat extent in upland areas remain relatively stable, although only around 1% of grassland priority habitat is in the uplands.

Recent actions aimed at improving habitat condition and connectivity include several restoration projects funded though Nature Networks Fund, site management improvements by local teams in NRW and Plantlife-led initiatives, all aided by updated ecological network maps. However, restoration needs to be significantly scaled up and enacted over longer timescales. The Sustainable Farming Scheme could offer a turning point, but its success will hinge on uptake and resourcing. Overall, resilience remains low, with mixed prospects for improvement.

Aim 3: Healthy Places for People, Protected from Environmental Risk

Semi-natural grasslands provide vital services that protect and enhance human health. They store significant amounts of soil carbon—more than improved grasslands—and can begin sequestering carbon within two years of restoration. They also filter air pollutants, reducing respiratory health risks, produce much less water pollution than intensive agriculture, and regulate water flow, helping to mitigate flood risks. These benefits are especially pronounced in floodplain grasslands, which can retain large quantities of water during heavy rainfall events, usually with minimal impact on sward diversity and growth.

Grasslands also support mental and physical well-being through recreation, amenity, and cultural services. Over 23 million visits were made to these habitats in 2021/22, contributing to public health and local economies. According to polls, landscapes rich in wildflowers and structural variety are particularly valued by people. Despite these benefits, only a small proportion of grasslands are protected, and equitable access remains poorly understood. Continued investment in protection and restoration is essential to maintain these habitats, the wellbeing services they provide and ensure they are accessible to all.

Aim 4: Contributing to a Regenerative Economy, Achieving Sustainable Levels of Production and Consumption

Semi-natural grasslands support a regenerative economy by delivering ecosystem services that underpin sustainable agriculture. They are of particular importance for bees and other pollinating invertebrates, and have a key role in pest control, soil quality regulation, and water purification. Semi-natural grasslands reduce soil erosion and contribute to natural flood management. Their low-input management reduces pollution and supports biodiversity, while producing high-quality, nutrient-rich food. Traditional practices like haymaking also preserve cultural heritage, and grassland habitats are a key genetic resources for crop breeding.

Economic pressures such as agricultural intensification, infrastructure development and afforestation continue to threaten semi-natural grasslands. However, low-intensity farming is increasingly recognised as a viable economic model. The upcoming Sustainable Farming Scheme is expected to incentivise better management but must be well-resourced and widely adopted. Integrating grassland restoration into broader land-use planning can deliver co-benefits for nature, people, and the economy, supporting a shift from grey infrastructure to nature-based solutions.

Key changes since SoNaRR2020

There has been little or no improvement in the resilience of semi-natural grasslands in Wales since SoNaRR 2020. The main drivers of change noted in 2020, such as agricultural intensification, undermanagement, atmospheric pollution and climate change, remain significant.

No real improvement in the extent or connectivity of semi-natural grasslands has been detected. Similarly, there is little or no evidence of recent improvement in semi-natural grassland condition, with neglect/undermanagement still the main issue. As a result, grassland diversity has continued to decline.

New evidence suggests that grassland habitats and species are even more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than previously thought. Rates of atmospheric nitrogen deposition have continued to decrease but all forms of semi-natural grassland remain impacted by critical load levels exceedance, and dry ammonia deposition has increased in some areas.

There has been limited progress in additional statutory protection of grassland habitats since 2020, although progress may improve given the Welsh Government’s ‘30 by 30’ objective for ‘an accelerated SSSI notification programme’. Several separate projects have benefitted grassland resilience locally but work urgently needs to be scaled up and operate over the longer term.

Read the full assessment of the semi-natural grassland ecosystem in our State of Natural Resources Report 2025.

Read this assessment



Underlying evidence

In writing our assessments and to better identify opportunities for action we have gathered evidence that helps us understand these key aspects:

  • the drivers of change and pressures on semi-natural grasslands in Wales.
  • the ecosystem resilience of semi-natural grasslands in Wales.
  • the benefits, or services, we get from semi-natural grasslands and how changes in the state of semi-natural grasslands impact on well-being.

Access the detailed evidence through our SoNaRR 2025 Evidence portal.

Evidence needs

The lack of recent information on extent and condition is a major hinderance to improving resilience of semi-natural grasslands in Wales. Existing information on extent is mainly based on survey from late last century, while recent condition assessment covers a minority of grassland SSSI features and is very sparce for non-statutory sites. There is also a need to better evaluate the success of agri-environment schemes and grassland creation projects, and to monitor trends in grassland species diversity, particularly for uncommon vascular plants and invertebrates.

More research is needed to better quantify grassland ecosystem services such as carbon storage, water regulation and flood prevention. This includes understanding the impact of varied management regimes, species diversity and root structures on soil carbon and water dynamics. Climate change impacts on species composition and ecosystem service delivery are also a priority. Further evidence is sought on the effects of atmospheric pollution, tree planting, and land-use changes on grassland resilience, and to identify optimal locations for new grassland creation to enhance connectivity and ecosystem benefits.

Read SoNaRR 2025 Evidence needs.

Key evidence sources

Explore some of the evidence we have used to inform our assessment:

Case studies

Inspiring projects from across Wales that are encouraging a spirit of change.

Floodplain meadows in Wales

Since 2023 the Floodplain meadows in Wales project have been developing relationships and knowledge relating to floodplain meadows in Wales. They are working to explore the historic and current extent of floodplain meadows, determine the potential for restoration and collaborating with various groups with the aim of helping to develop future research and floodplain meadow restoration projects.

Floodplain meadows in Wales | Floodplain Meadows Partnership

 

Grassland Ecological Network maps

Progress in remapping ecological networks, which enables grassland creation and restoration to be more spatially targeted to enhance important ecological networks. NRW’s Grassland Ecological Network maps have been updated (2022) and are available. These maps are being used and further developed by local NRW teams (for example in South West and South Central areas). The ecological network maps are also widely used in country planning and woodland creation. 

Priority Ecological Networks (PENs) | DataMapWales

 

Cryptic Creatures of the Creuddyn project

The project is a partnership between Conwy County Borough Council, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Butterfly Conservation, a non-profit environmentalist organisation. It is funded by the Welsh Government and National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Nature Network Fund to strengthen the environmental resilience of Wales’ protected land. The project aims to better understand and protect the rare and at-risk species of the Creuddyn peninsula by informing habitat management on the Great Orme, Bryn Euryn, Nant y Gamar and hopefully other sites in the area.

Rare species recorded by Creuddyn invertebrates-focused project - Conwy County Borough Council

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