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Sheep grazing on a limestone pavement

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Limestone Pavement Partnership Conference 2025

Speaker: Justine Patton

Justine Patton from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology delivers a paper entitled "Do Habitat Condition and Vegetation Characteristics Drive Moth Community Composition at Hutton Roof and Farleton Knott?".

Speaker: Sharon Parr

Sharon Parr from the Burren LIFE Project provides a talk on developing a practical, results-based agri-environmental programme to deliver conservation in the Burren.

Speaker: Caragh Clayton-Chance

Caragh Clayton-Chance of Natural England discusses the challenges for limestone pavement management in Yorkshire.

Speaker: Sophie Roberts

Sophie Roberts from Lancaster University delivers her paper on niche separation in bryophytes in grikes.

Speaker: Alex Gray

Alex Gray from Edge Hill University delivers their paper on "Connectivity in a Karst landscape: Genetic diversity and population differentiation in the rare plant Bird's Foot Sedge".

Speaker: Carly Stevens

Carly Stevens from Lancaster University discusses the recent changes undergone in limestone pavement habitats.

Speaker: Carly Stevens

Carly Stevens, Professor at Lancaster University, provides an overview of her recent Quarry Life grazing experiment.

Speaker: Ezra Tattersall

Ezra Tattersall delivers his paper entitled: "Restoring a rare habitat: Managing limestone pavements for plants and invertebrates".

Speaker: Hannah Risser

Hannah Risser from Lancaster University delivers her paper on identifying mechanisms for decline and pathways to recovery in Lepidoptera populations in calcareous habitats.

Speaker: Lucy Brookfield

Lucy Brookfield, Protected Sites Higher Officer for Natural England, provides insight into the challenges for limestone pavement management in Lancashire and Cumbria.

Preserving the future of limestone pavements

Professor Carly Stevens of Lancaster University’s Environment Centre is at Horton Quarry in North Yorkshire, where she has partnered up with quarry owners Heidelberg Materials in an effort to preserve the ecological richness and diversity of the rare limestone pavement habitat. Funded by Quarry Life Awards and the Philip Welch Fund.

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Carly Stevens

Other useful resources

Below are some key publications on limestone pavements. Where possible links are provided:

  • Backshall, J., Webb, S. & Rigby, J. (2011) Chapter 10 Craggs, Scree and Limestone Pavement. In: The Upland Management Handbook. Peterborough: Natural England.
  • Goldie , H. S. (1987) Human impact on limestone pavement. Endins, 13, 71-81.
  • Goldie, H. S. (1993) The legal protection of limestone pavements in Great Britain. Environmental Geology, 21, 160-166.
  • Goldie , H. S. (1996) The limestone pavements of great Asby scar, Cumbria, UK. Environmental Geology, 28, 128-136.
  • JNCC (2009) Common standards monitoring guidance for upland habitats. Peterborough: Joint Nature Conservation Committee.
  • Sand-Jensen, K. & Hammer, K. J. (2012) Moss cushions facilitate water and nutrient supply for plant species on bare limestone pavements. Oecologia, 170, 305-312.
  • Silvertown, J. W. (1982) Measuring plant distribution in limestone pavement. Field Studies, 5, 651-662.
  • Silvertown, J. W. (1983) The distribution of plants in limestone pavement: tests of species interaction and niche separation against null hypotheses. Journal of Ecology, 71, 819-828.
  • Sweeting, M. M. (1972) Karst Landforms London and Basingstoke: MacMillan.
  • Ward, S. D. & Evans, D. F. (1975) A botanical survey and conservation assessment of British limestone pavements. Bangor: Institute of Terrestrial Ecology.
  • Webb, S. (2013) Limestone Pavements. In: Waltam, T. & Lowe, D. (eds.) Caves and Karst of the Yorkshire Dales. British Cave Research Association.
  • Webb, S. & Crowle, A. (2023) Definition of Favourable Conservation Status for limestone pavement. Peterborough: Natural England.