| Most of the grassland in Denmark
has been
destroyed
through cultivation, fetilization and tree-planting. In modern farming
the cattle are often kept indoors for milk-production and grassland are
no longer needed for grazing and hay-gathering. If grazing of the
grassland
stops or ceases, tall growing herbs and grasses take over and the
smaller
weak-growing plant species will die out. The remaining grassland often
lies on ground which is difficult to cultivate and many are today
protected
as nature reserves. Some of the grassland has been in use for
centuries,
and the flora is very rich. In the early spring the first plants are flowering. It is mostly annuals as Erophila verna, Arabidopsis thaliana, Myosotis-species and Veronica-species. In May it is Ranunculus bulbosus (right picture) and Saxifrage granulata, which turns the grassland in to yellow and white. |
|
 |
Through the summer a lot of
plants can be seen as Hypochoeris radiata, Stellaria graminea,
Hieracium pilosella, Knautia arvensis, Rumex acetosa, Achillea
millefolium, Centaurea jacea, Polygala vulgaris, Thymus pulegioides,
Succisa pratensis amd grasses as Festuca rubra, Poa
pratensis, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Cynosurus cristatus, Poa
trivialis, Agrostis tenuis and Holcus lanatus. On grassland on calcerous clay some lime-loving species can be found as Filipendula vulgaris, Briza media, Linum catharticum, Leontodon hispidus, and Cirsium acaule. Many of the plants species growing on grassland are adapted to grazing e.g. Cirsium acaule (picture left) as it is very stinging and the flowers are developed near the surface of the ground. Other typical species occasionally seen between the common are Carex caryophyllea, Helictotrichon pratense, Helictotrichon pubescens, Danthonia decumbens, Hieracium lactucella, Primula veris and occasionally Orchis mascula. |
