Floodplain meadows:

• generate a sustainable and prized hay crop;

• provide an important nectar source for pollinating insects such as bumblebees and hoverflies;

• support rare plant communities and are vital sources of seed for the restoration of meadows;

• provide flood-storage areas, trap sediment and store carbon, and will be increasingly valued for these functions as the climate changes; and

• provide a link with the past, a living reminder of the traditional, rural landscapes and the ways of life that created them

Floodplain Meadows – Beauty and Utility.