Resources

Sheep grazing on a limestone pavement

Publications

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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: Emma Glanville

Emma Glanville from the Burren National Park delivers an overview of the park's ecology.

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.

Limestone Pavement Partnership Conference 2026

Speaker: Andrew Cannell and Erin Lacey

Andrew Cannell and Erin Lacey present their talk Paving the way: Creating a new limestone pavement at the Shuttleworth Botanic Garden on the Isle of Man.

Speaker: Dr Andy Wilby

Dr Andy Wilby from Lancaster Environment Centre delivers his talk on pollinator and floral community interactions at Warton Crag and the impact of ecological succession.

Speaker: Professor Carly Stevens

Professor Carly Stevens, lead of the Limestone Pavements Partnership and academic at Lancaster Environment Centre delivers her paper on the impacts of nitrogen deposition on limestone pavements.

Speaker: Ezra Tattersall

Ezra Tattersall, PhD student at the Limestone Pavement Partnership, delivers his talk on how trees shape the limestone pavement communities.

Speaker: Hebe Carus

Heve Carus, Ecology Advisor for Forestry and Land Scotland, presents her talk entitled "From Plantation to Pavement: A Project Unique within Scotland".

Speaker: Scott Petrek

Scott Petrek, Reserves Officer at Cumbria Wildlife Trust, discusses his involvement in the Limestone Pavement Partnership Hutton Roof project.

Speaker: Sian Hale

Sian Hale, MRes student based at Lancaster Environment Centre, talks about her research investigating the soils of limestone pavements and how they vary.

Speaker: Sophie Roberts

Sophie Roberts, MRes student at the Limestone Pavement Partnership, delivers her talk on niche separation of bryophytes in the grikes of limestone pavements.

Speaker: Wilson Flint

Wilson Flint, MRes student at Edge Hill University, delivers his talk on the need for more data on the management of limestone pavements and calcareous grasslands, looking at everything from scrub removal to grazing management.

Speaker: Professor Stephen Ward

Professor Stephen Ward from the University of Bath presents his keynote speech on his 1970s incredibly influential and important survey of limestone pavements in Britain, which led to Gait Barrows becoming a National Nature Reserve and ultimately contributed to the passage of Section 34 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act of 1981.

Podcasts

The Limestone Pavement Partnership Team has been featured on several podcasts since the Partnership's inception, discussing various aspects of limestone pavement flora and its management.

Listen to our podcasts

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.