Today is #NationalMeadowsDay so I thought I’d create a thread about these super important and overlooked habitats – which can also be known as species rich grasslands. But what are they exactly and why do they matter? (1/11)

Species rich grasslands were once common in Britain and contain a high diversity of plant and insect life. There are different types depending on factors like soil pH and location – in them you can expect to find interesting wildflowers, grasses and even beautiful orchids (2/11)

Healthy native grasslands are home to thousands of specialist plants, insects and fungi, which in turn support many other species like birds and mammals. However, they are also great for other reasons and provide us with free eco-system services. (3/11)

For example, grasslands can capture carbon and assist with flood mitigation (both important in the changing climate we live in). They are also BEAUTIFUL places to enjoy and part of our cultural heritage – helping to support our physical and mental wellbeing (4/11)

Unfortunately, our meadows have declined RAPIDLY and are still under serious threat. Wonderful charity @plantlife state that we have lost at least 97% of our native meadows in less than a century. This is devastating for both nature and us (5/11)

One major factor in their decline is agriculture – species rich grasslands are regularly ploughed up and reseeded with a dominant grass crop to create pastures for grazing livestock. Changing farm practices over the past 100 years have also seen increased chemical use (6/11)

Another risk to native meadows is TREEPLANTING Particularly in Scotland where we have ambitious planting targets to combat climate change. Remember, not all tree planting is equal – creating woodland by destroying another incredible biodiverse habitat isn’t helpful (7/11)

True native meadows aren’t usually flamboyant like the colourful annual seed mixes you can buy in the supermarket. A lot of people don’t know what they are or how to identify them, which makes it more difficult to recognise when one is being destroyed (8/11)

Here at @nature_scot we're researching new remote sensing technology to locate our precious remaining fragments of grassland and help protect them before it’s too late. We are also trawling through historic aerial imagery to see which meadows have been lost over time (9/11)

If you feel inspired to stand up for our native meadows you can get involved by signing @plantlife's petition, spreading the word, brushing up your wildflower ID skills and checking out these fantastic accounts: @BSBIbotany @wildflower_hour @botany_beck @LeifBersweden (10/11)

Thank you for reading! I will be spending my Saturday enjoying some great wildflowers and meadows here in rainy Scotland - HAPPY NATIONAL MEADOWS DAY! (11/11)