Wet meadows in lowland west central Scotland — an almost forgotten botanical habitat

Abstract

Summary The composite picture presented of how Scotland's former wet meadows (which include both flood and water meadows) were managed for bog-hay is based almost entirely on agrarian literature of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Reasons for these meadows' virtual disappearance from the agricultural scene are discussed. Within the author's area of search in lowland west central Scotland, a small number of remnant wet meadows were found, all in an advanced stage of decay. Examples of surviving botanical communities are given. The account concludes with a brief description of a wet meadow restoration project.