ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the key factors that have contributed to the decline of lowland grassland and heathland habitats in more detail, and evaluates the management options for habitat maintenance, enhancement, translocation, restoration and creation. The effectiveness of conservation management is often greatly influenced by international and national conservation designations and environmental schemes, and depends on appropriate monitoring of management practices and outcomes. Grasslands and heathlands have a long management history, from Neolithic times onwards. The history of these habitats provides baseline information relevant to the management of grasslands and heathlands today. The development of most biologically diverse grassland and heathland habitats is a consequence of traditional, sustainable land management practices, and this has important implications for the survival of species and for the development of management programmes today. The management of grasslands and heathlands operates within a framework of legal protection, international and national conservation designations, and agri-environment schemes.
