§ Mr. DafisTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the area of wet grasslands in Wales for the latest available five years; what estimates he has made of the area of wet grassland for the next five years; what plans he has to encourage farmers to(a) conserve existing wet grassland and (b) recreate former grasslands; and if he will make a statement. [28215]
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesAnnual statistics are not available, but figures can be derived from the Welsh phase 1 habitat survey and from a vegetation survey of the Welsh uplands carried out in the 1980s. Marshy grassland is generally widely distributed throughout lowland and upland Wales where soil moisture levels permits the development of juncus and molina pastures. There are approximately 24,000 hectares of this habitat present in lowland Wales, with a further 40,000 hectares in the uplands. Farmers are encouraged to conserve and recreate wet grassland through entry into an environmentally sensitive area, Tir Cymen or habitat scheme.
First impression of the numbers of farmers applying to join the habitat scheme indicate that large areas of wet grassland habitat will be both maintained and enhanced in future.