Grassland

Whilst there are large areas of open grassland in Richmond, many of these sites are not managed primarily for nature conservation. These include sports pitches: cricket, football and bowling greens, and recreational areas such as playing fields. The areas that are typically managed as meadows support the largest amount of flora and fauna, but the soil type and management practices of a site will ultimately affect the species composition.

A lot of Richmond’s grasslands are acidic and the largest areas are contained within Richmond Park, Bushy Park and Home Park (Hampton Court). Other important acid grassland sites are the commons of Barnes, East Sheen and Ham. These sites contain many important plants, but the plant mostly associated with acidic conditions is heather, but unfortunately like most of London, only small remnants now remain within the borough, although efforts are being made on Barnes Common to restore an area of heather.