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12 animal weeks/hectare/year, which is the kind of grazing pressure this sort of damp heath
could maintain in the long-term (at least with average aimual rainfall). This level and timing of
grazing should allow the Heather a sufficient annual growth increment (see Gimingham 1992).
Plants
However, an important impact of the cattle grazing, particularly in the first three years, was to
force the woody plants, Heather and Creeping Willow, to grow in a prostrate form. This ensured
that they covered the ground and this has prevented competition from other plants (see Fig. 3).
The transformation of the tall, spindly Creeping Willow shrubs, which were growing along the
banks of the central ditch-line into the mats of bushy growth that can now be observed is a
striking consequence.
Fig. 3. English Longhorn, Emily, grazing Creeping Willow forcing it to grow in prostrate form
Despite the trampling and grazing Bracken does remain a problem for the restoration process as
demonstrated by the limited re-establishment of Headier in the southern plot. Following grazing
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 16 (1999)