Editing Meadow (section)

==Types==
===Agricultural meadows===

In [[agriculture]], a meadow is [[grassland]] that is not regularly [[grazing|grazed]] by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to produce [[hay]]. Their origins extend back to the Iron Age, when appropriate tools for the hay harvest emerged. The ability to produce livestock fodder on meadows had a significant advantage for livestock production, since animals could be kept in enclosures, simplifying the control over breeding. Surpluses in biomass production during the summer could be stored for the winter, preventing damage to forests and grasslands since there was no longer the need for livestock grazing during the winter.<ref name=":6" />

Especially in the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Ireland]], the term meadow is commonly used in its original sense to mean a [[Hay|hay meadow]], signifying grassland [[mowing|mow]]n annually in the summer for making [[hay]]. Agricultural meadows are typically [[lowland]] or [[Upland pasture|upland]] fields upon which hay or pasture grasses grow from self-sown or hand-sown seed.<ref name="meadow" /> Traditional hay meadows were once common in rural Britain but are now in decline. Ecologist Professor John Rodwell states that over the past century England and Wales have lost about 97% of their hay meadows.<ref name="haymeadow">[[Rebecca Morelle]]: [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10381309#story_continues_1 Conservationists warn of hay meadow decline] BBC News Science & Environment, June 28, 2010. Retrieved June 18, 2013.</ref> Fewer than {{ Convert | 15,000 | ha }} of lowland meadows remain in the UK and most sites are relatively small and fragmented.  25% of the UK's meadows are found in [[Worcestershire]], with Foster's Green Meadow  managed by the [[Worcestershire Wildlife Trust]] being a major site.<ref>James Hitchcock ''Fields of Gold'' Worcestershire Life May 2013 p75</ref>

A similar concept to the hay meadow is the [[pasture]], which differs from the meadow in that it is grazed through the summer rather than being allowed to grow out and periodically be cut for hay.<ref name="meadow">[[s:The New International Encyclopædia/Meadow|Meadow]] The New International Encyclopedia, 1905. Retrieved June 18, 2013.</ref> A pasture can also refer to any land used for grazing, and in this wider sense the term refers not only to grass pasture but also to non-grassland habitats such as [[heathland]], [[moorland]] and [[wood pasture]].<ref>[[s:The New International Encyclopædia/Pasture|Pasture]] The New International Encyclopedia, 1905. Retrieved July 5, 2013.</ref> The term [[grassland]] is used to describe both hay meadows and grass pastures.<ref>{{Citation |last=Rackham |first=Oliver |title=Land-Use Patterns, Historic |date=2013-01-01 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123847195000836 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Biodiversity (Second Edition) |pages=569–582 |editor-last=Levin |editor-first=Simon A |access-date=2023-05-02 |place=Waltham |publisher=Academic Press |language=en |isbn=978-0-12-384720-1}}</ref>

The specific agricultural practices in relation to the meadow can take on various expressions. As mentioned, this could be hay production or providing food for grazing cattle and livestock but also to give room for [[orchards]] or [[honey]] production. Meadows are embedded and dependent on a complex web of socio-cultural conditions for their maintenance. Historically, they emerged to increase agricultural efficiency when the necessary tools became available. Today, agricultural practices have shifted and meadows have largely lost their original purpose. Yet, they are appreciated today for their aesthetics and ecological functions. Consequently, the European Union's [[Common Agricultural Policy]] subsidizes their management, mostly through grazing.<ref name=":6" />

<gallery>
Image:Hay Meadow - geograph.org.uk - 513892.jpg|An uncut [[hay]] meadow.
File:Okolí Huklivého 001.jpg|Montane hay meadows with haystacks. 
File:Kirschbaumbluete in Neidlingen 02.jpg|An [[orchard]] meadow.
File:Asino Sardo.jpg|A meadow (pasture) maintained by grazing livestock.
File:Valge toonekurg.JPG|Artificially grazed meadow.
File:Զանգեզուրի արգելավայր 11 (17).JPG|Artificial beehives.
</gallery>

===Transitional meadows===

A transitional meadow occurs when a [[Field (agriculture)|field]], [[pasture]], [[Farmland (farming)|farmland]], or other cleared land is no longer cut or [[grazing|grazed]] and starts to display luxuriant growth, extending to the flowering and self-seeding of its grass and wildflower species.<ref name="Slovakia">Helena Ruzickova and Miroslav Bural, "Grasslands of the East Carpathian Biosphere Reserve in Slovakia," In: Office of Central Europe and Eurasia National Research Council, Biodiversity Conservation in Transboundary Protected Areas, National Academies Press, Sept 27, 1996, p. 233-236.</ref> The condition is however only temporary, because the grasses eventually become shaded out when [[Scrubland|scrub]] and [[woody plant]]s become well-established, being the forerunners of the return to a fully wooded state.<ref name="Griffiths">Robert Griffiths et al.: [http://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu/pubs/pdf/pub3855.pdf Conifer Invasion of Forest Meadows Transforms Soil Characteristics in the Pacific Northwest] Forest Ecology and Management 208, 2005, p. 347-358. Retrieved June 18, 2013.</ref> A transitional state can be artificially-maintained through a double-field system, in which cultivated soil and meadows are alternated for a period of 10 to 12 years each.<ref name="Slovakia"/>

In [[North America]] prior to [[Europe]]an [[colonization]], [[Algonquian peoples|Algonquians]], [[Iroquois]] and other [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] peoples regularly cleared areas of forest to create transitional meadows where [[deer]] and [[Game (hunting)|game]] could find food and be [[deer hunting|hunted]]. For example, some of today's meadows originated thousands of years ago, due to regular burnings by Native Americans.<ref name="Griffiths"/><ref>Geoffery A. Hammerson, Connecticut Wildlife: Biodiversity, Natural History, and Conservation, UPNE, 2004.</ref>

<gallery>
File:Abandoned South Lynn goods yard 2.jpg|Abandoned meadow in England.
File:Abandoned South Lynn goods yard.jpg|The same landscape some years later.
File:Mist Covering a Meadow under Forest Encroachment.jpg|Conifers encroaching on a meadow in Washington, USA.
</gallery>

===Perpetual meadows===

{{More citations needed section|date=January 2021}}
A perpetual meadow, also called a natural meadow, is one in which [[environmental factor]]s, such as climatic and [[soil mechanics|soil conditions]], are favorable to perennial grasses and restrict the growth of woody plants indefinitely.<ref>T. A. Rabotinov, "Meadow," The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (3rd ed), 1979. http://slovari.yandex.ru/ (in Russian), Retrieved June 18, 2013.</ref> Types of perpetual meadows may include:

* [[Alpine meadow]]s occur at high elevations above the [[tree line]] and maintained by harsh climatic conditions.
* [[Coastal meadow]]s maintained by [[seawater|salt sprays]].
* [[Desert|Desert meadows]] restricted by low [[Precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]] or lack of nutrients and [[humus]].
* [[Prairies]] maintained by periods of severe [[drought]] or subject to [[wildfires]].
* [[Wet meadow]]s (a semi-[[wetland]] area) saturated with water throughout much of the year.

<gallery>
File:Valley of flowers uttaranchal full view.JPG|The perpetual alpine meadows in [[Valley of Flowers National Park|Valley of Flowers]], [[Uttarakhand]], India (western Himalayas).
Image:Santagadea.jpg|The [[coastal meadow]]s at the [[Bay of Biscay]] near [[Tapia de Casariego]], [[Spain]]
File:Desert meadow in Eastern Washington.jpg|A desert meadow near [[Walla Walla, Washington|Walla Walla]], Washington USA.
File:Sparks Meadow in July2.jpeg|Perpetual meadows in [[Oregon]], USA.
File:Insulo Olĥono en Bajkalo (Rusujo) 010.jpg|Natural meadows and grasslands at [[Lake Baikal]], Russia.
File:Flood-meadow near Hohenau 01.jpg|[[Flood meadow]] near [[Hohenau an der March]], [[Austria]]
File:Shangarh Meadows, HP, India.jpg|Meadows in Shangarh, [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[India]]
</gallery>

=== Urban meadow ===
{{Main articles|Urban meadow}}
[[File:ProspectPark Brooklyn Nethermead.jpg|thumb|325px|Southward view from the Nethermead Arches toward the Nethermead urban meadow in [[Prospect Park (Brooklyn)|Prospect Park]], [[Brooklyn]], [[New York City]]]]
[[File:Urban Meadow in Uppsala.jpg|thumb|Urban Meadow at Botaniska Trädgården, [[Uppsala]], Sweden]]
[[File:TifftNaturePreserve3.jpg|thumb|An urban meadow at [[Tifft Nature Preserve]] in [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]], [[New York (state)|New York]]]]

Recently, urban areas have been thought of as potential biodiversity conservation sites. The shift from urban lawns, that are widely spread habitats in cities, to urban meadows is thought to promote greater refuges for plant and animal communities. Urban lawns require intensive management that puts the life there at risk of losing their habitat, especially due to the mowing frequency. Cutting that mowing frequency has demonstrated to induce a clear positive effect on the plant community's diversity, which allows the switch from urban lawns to urban meadows.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Chollet|first1=Simon|last2=Brabant|first2=Charlotte|last3=Tessier|first3=Samson|last4=Jung|first4=Vincent|date=December 2018|title=From urban lawns to urban meadows: Reduction of mowing frequency increases plant taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity|journal=Landscape and Urban Planning|volume=180|pages=121–124|doi=10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.08.009|bibcode=2018LUrbP.180..121C |s2cid=92366337}}</ref>

Due to increased urbanization, the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2017 decreed that there is a need to protect all ecosystems due to climate change. The majority of the people that live in the urban regions of any country usually get their plant knowledge from visiting parks and or public green infrastructure. Local authorities have the duty of providing the green spaces for the public, but these departments are constantly suffering major budget cuts, making it more difficult for people to admire natural wildlife in the urban sectors and also impairing the local ecosystem. In line with the increasing acceptance of a "messier urban aesthetic", the perennial meadows can be seen as a more realistic alternative to the classic urban lawns as they would also be more cost-efficient to maintain. Factors that managers of urban spaces list as important to regard are:

* ''Aesthetics and public reaction''
* ''Locational context''
* ''Human Resources and economic sustainability''
* ''Local politics''
* ''Communication''
* ''Biodiversity and existing habitat''
* ''Physical factors.''<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hoyle|first1=Helen|last2=Jorgensen|first2=Anna|last3=Warren|first3=Philip|last4=Dunnett|first4=Nigel|last5=Evans|first5=Karl|date=July 2017|title="Not in their front yard" The opportunities and challenges of introducing perennial urban meadows: A local authority stakeholder perspective|journal=Urban Forestry & Urban Greening|volume=25|pages=139–149|doi=10.1016/j.ufug.2017.05.009|doi-access=free|bibcode=2017UFUG...25..139H }}</ref>
[[File:Urban meadows 01.jpg|thumb|Urban meadows in comparison]]