CGS22: Manage priority habitat species-rich grassland

What you must do to get paid for this CSHT action and advice on how to do it.

From:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Rural Payments Agency
Published
10 September 2025
Grant type:
Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier
Land type:
Grassland
Areas of interest:
Biodiversity and Pollinators

This action is part of Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT). You must read the CSHT guidance before you apply.

Duration

5 years

How much you’ll be paid

 £646 per hectare (ha) per year 

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is to manage species-rich grassland which is a priority habitat or is in the process of becoming a priority habitat. You can use this to manage existing grassland or grassland that’s being restored or created.   

The purpose of this is to maintain and improve the biodiversity of grassland areas to benefit flowering plants, fungi and other wildlife, such as insects, birds and bats.  

Where you can do this action

You can do this action on eligible agricultural land that:

  • is already priority habitat species-rich grassland – it does not need to be mapped on the Priority Habitat Inventory (PHI)
  • will become priority habitat species-rich grassland because you’re creating or restoring it

Priority habitat species-rich grasslands include:

If your grassland is not ‘priority habitat species-rich grassland’, it may be eligible if it’s:

If your grassland is not on the Priority Habitats Inventory under any category it may still be eligible for management or restoration with approval from Natural England. Your grassland may support additional species or features, such as rare fungi. You’ll need to adjust management requirements accordingly.

You can also do this action to restore or create species-rich grassland on:   

  • arable land
  • temporary or permanent grassland which is not currently species-rich

Land must have high or medium potential to become a species-rich grassland priority habitat.  

If you’re restoring or creating grassland, you must provide your Natural England adviser with:

  • a map showing where restoration (from permanent grassland to grassland habitat) or creation (from arable or temporary grassland to grassland habitat) will take place
  • soil analysis results including the soil available phosphorus (Olsen P method) and the soil potassium status – this is only required if you’re intending to introduce wildflowers

You must have carried out soil analysis within the last year, or within the last 5 years if you have not:

  • applied fertiliser
  • increased stocking levels

You can use this action on sites that are not suitable for the equivalent SFI action GRH6: Manage priority habitat species-rich grassland (endorsed). This may be because:

  • the standard management activities in the SFI action are not suitable for the site, (for example, the land parcel has a mixture of species rich grassland types)
  • the site supports additional habitats, features or species which need tailored management (for example, where the site supports rare birds)
  • the site supports types of species-rich grassland which are not eligible for the SFI action (for example, calaminarian grassland)
  • the site needs additional actions, supplements or capital items which are only available in Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier

This applies to existing SFI expanded offer for 2024 agreement holders with action GRH6: Manage priority habitat species-rich grassland (endorsed). The SFI 2024 expanded offer is closed for new applications.

Eligible land 

You can do this action on land that’s:

  • an eligible land type
  • registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
  • declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover
Eligible land type Eligible land cover Compatible land use code
Arable land used to grow crops Arable land Land use codes for arable crops or leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops
Arable land lying fallow Arable land FA01
Temporary grassland Grassland TG01
Permanent grassland Grassland PG01
Watercourse – river or stream (Rivers and Streams Type 2) Inland water IW02
Bracken, heather and heathland Heath land and bracken HE02
Fen, marsh and swamp Inland wetland IW06
Bog Inland wetland IW07
Reed bed Marine wetland MW03
Non-agricultural area or feature which is temporary and likely to change over time (ineligible area) Non-agricultural area NA02
Scattered rock Notional features NF01
Scattered bracken or heather Notional features NF02
Scattered scrub Notional features NF03
Scattered water features Notional features NF05
Scattered natural features Notional features NF06
Track – natural surface Natural transport – tracks and gallops NT03
Scree Rock RO02
Boulders Rock RO03
Rocky outcrop Rock RO04
Watercourse – ditch, drain or dyke Water/irrigation features WF01
Pond Water/irrigation features WF03
Woodland Natural woodland WO12

Available area you can enter into this action

Total or part of the available area in the land parcel.

Rotational or static action

This action is static. This means you must do it on the same location each year of the action’s duration.

What to do

Your Natural England adviser will assess your land. They’ll work with you to adapt and agree the activities you must do to achieve this action’s aim. All mandatory activities will be set out in your agreement document. 

To get paid for this action, you must: 

  • maintain, restore, or establish a mix of high value indicator plants typical of the species-rich grassland priority habitat – some indicator species will be frequent or occasional across the site, as set out in your agreement
  • manage by grazing, cutting or a combination of both, as agreed with your Natural England adviser, to provide a variety of vegetation heights appropriate for the grassland type
  • restrict topping to areas and time periods set out in your agreement
  • manage the appropriate level of scrub cover for the grassland type
  • protect historic and archaeological features
  • cut scrub or bracken by hand on archaeological or historic features

The advice you’re given from Natural England is specific to your land which means (where relevant) you may also need to:

  • cut for hay no earlier than the end of June (or at a date agreed with your Natural England adviser) to allow plants to flower and set seed
  • remove all cuttings and graze the aftermath
  • remove livestock for at least 8 continuous weeks during the spring and summer before taking a hay cut
  • leave a proportion of the field uncut as a refuge for invertebrates and small mammals
  • remove livestock in certain years or at certain times of the year
  • increase or maintain livestock numbers at certain times of year for target features
  • manage rushes and other competitive plant species to achieve the right vegetation conditions
  • manage dense bracken stands rotationally by cutting or bruising
  • establish additional plant species if agreed with your Natural England adviser
  • take action to restore the appropriate hydrology (site wetness)
  • maintain the soil pH at suitable levels for the grassland type
  • carry out controlled burning
  • provide small areas of undisturbed bare ground to support specific species
  • follow an agreed wildfowling strategy and record bag returns

You must not: 

  • supplementary feed except for the use of mineral blocks or other types of feed agreed with your Natural England adviser
  • apply farmyard manure, unless agreed otherwise with your Natural England adviser
  • apply any other manures, fertiliser, digestate or any other industrial by-product including paper waste
  • apply pesticides – you may be able to use herbicides to spot-treat or weed-wipe for the control of injurious weeds, invasive non-native plant species, nettles or other plants if this has been agreed with your Natural England adviser
  • plough, cultivate or reseed, unless this is part of an agreed sward creation and enhancement plan
  • carry out mechanical operations or other activities that may cause significant disturbance to birds during the breeding season or the autumn and winter (this does not include ditch maintenance)
  • work on ditches typically between April and August – this may also apply to surface water features
  • harrow or roll, supplementary feed or allow bare soil on visible archaeological or historic features
  • allow additional scrub or bracken to encroach on archaeological or historic features
  • carry out drainage works without written permission from your Natural England adviser
  • carry out land management activities in a way that causes poaching or overgrazing

When to do it

You must do this action each year of its duration. 

Evidence to keep

You must keep evidence to show what you have done to complete this action. If it’s not clear that you have done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) may ask for this evidence. You must supply the evidence if they ask for it.  

Other actions or options you can do on the same area as this action 

You can do the following actions or options on the same area in a land parcel as this action. 

Some actions or options can only be done on the same area if they’re done at a different time of year to this action. 

Scheme Action or option code
SFI 2024 actions CSAM1, OFC1, OFC2, OFM1, OFM2, CIPM1, CNUM1
SFI 2023 actions SAM1, IPM1, NUM1
CSHT actions CSP13, CSP14, CSP15, CWS1, CWS3, CSP21, CSP20, CPAC1, CAGF2, CAGF4
CS options OR1, OR2, OT1, OT2,
ES options N/A

You can do the following actions or options on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into this action:

  • CSHT actions: CWT3, CHRW4
  • SFI 2024 actions: CHRW1, CHRW2, CHRW3, BND1, BND2, WBD10
  • SFI 2023 actions: HRW1, HRW2, HRW3
  • CS option BE3 (management of hedgerows)

Consents, permissions and licensing requirements

To apply for this action, you’ll need: 

You may need to: 

  • agree an implementation plan or feasibility study with your Natural England adviser
  • obtain any necessary consents from the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) or Internal Drainage Board (IDB) before starting any work
  • get advice from your Natural England adviser if you have other archaeological or historic features on your agreement land
  • get a wildlife licence from Natural England if your activities affect a protected species or their habitat

All archaeological and historic features (including scheduled monuments) are identified in your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER). 

If you’re a tenant, it’s your responsibility to check whether your tenancy agreement allows you to complete what’s required in the actions you choose. You may need your landlord’s consent.

Capital grants to support this action

If you need to complete an implementation plan or a feasibility study before you apply, you can apply for capital grants plans funding.

You can also apply for capital items to help you achieve the action’s aims. Your Natural England adviser will discuss eligible capital items with you.

Advice to help you do this action  

The following optional advice may help you to do this action. Your agreement document will set out all the activities you must do.   

Choosing a site 

Species-rich grassland is open, grassy habitat that is normally maintained by traditional grazing and cutting methods. A grassland is species-rich if it has at least 2 of the following:  

  • 15 or more plant species per two metres square (including, but not exclusively, indicator species for a species-rich priority habitat)  

  • more than 30% cover of wildflowers and sedges (excluding white clover, creeping buttercup and injurious weeds)  

  • less than 10% cover of white clover and perennial rye grass  

Creating and restoring species-rich grassland 

You can create species-rich grassland on arable or temporary grassland by introducing wildflower seed. Locations with high or medium potential will ideally: 

  • have low levels of soil available phosphate (index 0 or 1) 

  • have livestock available for management (or, for hay meadows, have the potential for hay cutting in most years) 

  • have few weeds like black-grass, couch grass or creeping thistle 

  • not be dominated by aggressive species like white clover, ryegrass, creeping buttercup and Yorkshire fog 

Get advice from an ecologist or Natural England adviser if the phosphate level is higher than 1.  

You can restore or enhance existing: 

  • priority habitat grassland that is in poor condition – for example, by restoring the hydrology, removing scrub, controlling rushes, changing grazing and cutting management 

  • species-poor permanent grassland by introducing wildflower seed  

Get advice from an ecologist or Natural England adviser if your site supports species which would be harmed by the creation or restoration of species-rich grassland. For example, if you have rare arable plants, fungi or farmland birds which need a different form of management, it may be more appropriate to create or restore grassland somewhere else. 

You can create or restore grassland by introducing wildflower seed using these capital items: 

  • GR1: Create or restore grassland habitat
  • GR3: Floristically enhanced seed mix for grassland habitat

Capital items are also available for other activities such as removing scrub and managing water levels. 

Assessing indicator species in species-rich grassland (species survey) 

You will need to assess the frequency of indicator species for a species-rich priority habitat to see if you can meet this action’s aim. This will be different for each type of habitat – you can discuss this with your Natural England adviser.  

The simplest way to assess species frequency in a habitat is to carry out a W-shaped (or other representative) walk across it.  

Stop at regular intervals or random points along the way. Look at the vegetation within the 2 square metres in front of you and note which indicator species are present. 

Stopping 10 times will be enough to assess most habitats. For very large areas of similar vegetation, you may need 20 stops.  

You can record the location of each stop for future reference and comparison using a handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) device. 

A species is: 

  • frequent if it occurs in 5 or more stops out of 10 

  • occasional if it occurs in 3 or 4 stops out of 10 

  • rare if it occurs in 1 or 2 stops out of 10 

Grazing or cutting 

Grazing will benefit most species rich grassland and is usually needed to manage it.  

You can cut species rich grassland where grazing is not possible or practical, as long as this will achieve the required sward height and structure for the grassland type. 

You may cut for hay where grasslands are already managed as hay meadows or have traditionally been hay meadows. You may also cut for hay where you are creating or restoring a hay meadow. 

Different vegetation heights provide a wider range of suitable conditions for more species of wildflowers and invertebrates. The hooves of livestock can create small areas of bare ground. This provides somewhere for wildflower seed to germinate and for invertebrates to warm up and burrow. 

Cattle are good at creating a mix of vegetation heights. Sheep or native ponies can be useful on some grasslands where you need to create short vegetation, like lowland acid grassland. 

You may need to remove livestock for a period in spring or summer to allow plants to flower and set seed. Livestock, particularly sheep, will selectively graze flowers and stop them producing seed.  

Maintaining correct sward heights 

For lowland calcareous grassland:  

  • graze in the summer to maintain a sward height of between 5cm and 15 cm 

  • graze in autumn or winter to remove rank vegetation 

  • if you have parched and lichen dominated lowland calcareous grassland, graze to maintain a year-round short sward of 5cm or less 

For lowland acid grassland:  

  • graze to maintain a year-round short sward of 5cm or less 

For lowland meadows:  

  • maintain an average sward height of between 5cm and 15cm through summer (except when fields are shut up for a cut of hay) 

  • graze through late summer and autumn to achieve an average height of 5cm to 10cm by winter 

For upland hay meadows:  

  • when grazed in spring, maintain a sward height of at least 5cm, removing livestock by 15 May or earlier 

  • after hay cutting, graze to an average height of 5cm to 10cm  

For purple moor-grass and rush pasture:  

  • graze with cattle to achieve an average sward height of between 8cm and 25cm by winter  

If your grassland is not typical, your Natural England adviser may need to adapt this advice to your site. 

Managing weeds, rushes, bracken and scrub 

Control injurious weeds and nettles to meet the requirements set out in your agreement. They are food sources for invertebrates and birds but can smother wildflowers if allowed to spread.  

Rushes occur naturally in some species-rich grasslands and jointed rush species can usually be controlled by grazing with cattle. Some rush species (particularly soft and hard rush) can smother wildflowers and reduce the grazing quality of grassland. 

Scrub and bracken can also be an important component of species-rich grassland but you may need control it to prevent it smothering the wildflowers in the sward.    

Using herbicides 

If you need to use herbicides, make sure they are only applied to the target weed species. You can do this by using spot spraying and weed wiping equipment correctly and grazing down the wildflowers and grasses so that the weeds can be treated without touching the non-target plants. 

Responding to climate change 

Read Natural England’s publication: ‘Adaptation for habitats in Environmental Land Management Schemes’ to help you consider your general response to climate change. You must continue to follow the mandatory activities for this CSHT action.

Updates to this page

Published 10 September 2025
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