Nottingham’s Green Heart is set to undergo its annual cutback next week as part of routine maintenance of the city centre meadow.
The work, known as a ‘cut-and-lift’, involves cutting back the remains of the summer growth and removing the material from the site.
Nottingham City Council said the Green Heart will look significantly different once the work has been completed, but the process is intended to protect the meadow’s long-term health and biodiversity.
The same approach is used across a number of parks and open spaces in the city.
The annual cut takes place at the end of the growing season and is designed to mimic traditional autumn grazing.
Removing the cut vegetation helps keep nutrient levels in the soil low, creating conditions in which wildflowers can continue to thrive.
If the plants were instead allowed to die back and decompose naturally, nutrients would gradually build up in the soil.
The council said this could encourage grasses to become more dominant, potentially crowding out wildflowers and reducing the diversity of the meadow.
In some locations, an additional summer ‘hay cut’ can also be carried out where grasses become too dominant. This involves cutting the meadow earlier in the season before grass seeds are dropped.
The council said this additional cut is not currently needed at the Green Heart.
Although the meadow may appear bare immediately after next week’s work, the vegetation is expected to return during the next growing season.
The council said the management technique is intended to support a greater variety of flowers and grasses while also providing habitat for pollinators, birds and small animals.
The Green Heart opened in Nottingham city centre as part of the wider redevelopment of the former Broadmarsh site.
