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Dairy cows graze the good
grass growing country
to the west
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Since Neolithic
times over 6,000 years ago, farmers have influenced the landscape
of the Southern Uplands. The lowland farm landscapes have richly
coloured soils, flat or gently sloping ground, bounded by drystone
dykes, mature hedges and tree avenues. Varied cropping provides
seasonal varieties of colours and textures. In the east, mixed and
arable farming have created larger, more open fields. Many farms
have remained in the ownership of the same family for generations.
The oldest farm buildings date back to the 17th century and use
local stone and traditional building designs.
Farmers in the
south of Scotland are famed for the excellence of the dairy and
beef cattle and the sheep they breed. Lowland livestock and dairy
farms are intensively managed with ryegrass pasture and fodder crops
for the cattle. The mild, wet west is particularly good grass growing
country and favoured by dairy farmers.
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A barn owl surveys
the evening landscape
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Arable cropping
is largely restricted to the lighter, drier soils of the eastern
river valleys and coastal plains. Winter wheat and barley are the
main crops with smaller areas of oilseed rape, well known varieties
of potatoes and root crops. Arable land sustains birds like the
skylark, linnet, tree sparrow, reed bunting, song thrush and grey
partridge that are declining in other agricultural areas. Annual
weeds attract insects and provide seeds while stubble offers vital
winter-feeding.
Delicate wild
flowers, including orchids, devil's-bit scabious and hawkbit thrive
in older grassland and roadside verges, where voles are hunted by
sparrowhawks and barn owls. Deciduous trees, hedges, stone dykes
and boundary habitats created by farmers are important wildlife
refuges and can act as wildlife corridors, allowing wildlife to
disperse or colonise new areas.
Ditches, streams
and areas of wetland, including rushy low-spots in pastures, river-valley
meadows and lowland raised bog, are all important habitats for freshwater
invertebrates and birds. Ragged Robin, Marsh Marigold and Meadow
Sweet are among the plants found in the wetland areas,
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