Limestone pavements are areas of exposed limestone that have been eroded into flat blocks and crevices. They are found primarily in parts of the UK, Ireland, and Europe. Limestone pavements were formed during the last ice age by water erosion. They support a unique biodiversity due to the rocky habitat providing shelter with little soil. However, limestone pavements face threats from activities like stone removal, grazing, and invasive species. Conservation efforts include limestone pavement orders that restrict disturbance and management of grazing and vegetation.

1. Limestone
Pavement
“an area of limestone which lies wholly or partly
exposed on the surface of the ground and has been
fissured by natural erosion”
(Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Section 34 (6))

2. Where?
o Around than 3000 hectares left in the UK
o Yorkshire Dales
o Lake District
o Elsewhere in Europe
o The Burren in Ireland
o High Alps
o Parts of former Yugoslavia
o Carboniferous Limestone
o Very Rare
JNCC , 2007

3. How?
o Limestone exposed in the last Ice Age
o Water action eroded the rock into paving
blocks – „clints‟
o Complex pattern of crevices – „grikes‟
o Typically horizontal, or gently inclined

4. Who?
o Snails and Slugs
o Woodlice
o True bugs
o Flies
o Craneflies
o Ants, bees and
wasps
o Birds

5. What?
o Vegetation that uses the structure of the
rocks as a shelter from the extreme
climate and/or grazing.
o Vegetation consisting of species that are
poor competitors but can withstand little or
no soil, low nutrients, poor shelter and
drought.

6. Pressures
o Stone Removal for Commercial Purposes
o Intensive Grazing
o Inappropriate Land Management
o Agricultural Operations
o Forestry Operations
o Invasive Species

7. Management
o Prevention of stone removal or
disturbance
o Limestone Pavement Orders (LPOs)

8. Management
o Open Pavement
o Wooded Pavement
o Scrubby Pavement
Open
Pavement
Scrubby
Pavement
Wooded
Pavement

9. Management
o Managing Open Limestone Pavement
o Reduce grazing/Total stock exclusion
o Managing Scrubby Limestone Pavement
o Removing invasive species
o Coppice management
o Stock introduction
o Managing Wooded Limestone Pavement
o Heavy thinning/Selective felling
o Removal of beech and conifers

10. References
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Backshall, J., Manley, J. and Rebane, M. (2001) The Upland Management Handbook. UK: English Nature.
BBC (2013) Limestone Pavements. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/habitats/Limestone_pavement
(Accessed: 4 October 2013).
Conway, J. and Onslow, E. (1999) The Impact of Grazing Management on Limestone Pavements in Wales .
Wales: Countryside Council for Wales.
Cumbria Wildlife Trust (2001) Cumbria Biodiversity Action Plan. Available at:
http://www.wildlifeincumbria.org.uk/cbap/habitat_biodiversity.asp (Accessed: 4 October 2013).
High Trenhouse (2010) Limestone Pavement. Available at: http://www.high-trenhouse.co.uk/blog/wpcontent/uploads/2010/03/IMG_0018.JPG (Accessed: 4 October 2013).
Joint Nature Conservation Committee (1995) Biodiversity: The UK Steering Group Report Volume 2 : Action
Plans (Annex F and Annex G). Available at: http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/PDF/UKBAP_BiodivUKSGRep-Vol2Tranche1-Annfg.pdf (Accessed: 4 October 2013).
Joint Nature Conservation Committee (2007) Second Report by the United Kingdom under Article 17 on the
Implementation of the Directive from January 2001 to December 2006. Peterborough: JNCC
Joint Nature Conservation Committee (2011) UK Biodiversity Action Plan Priority Habitat Descriptions. Available
at: http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/PDF/UKBAP_PriorityHabitatDesc-Rev2011.pdf (Accessed: 4 October 2013).
Lancashire Environment Record Network (2013) Limestone Pavement Orders. Available at:
http://www.lancspartners.org/lern/limestone_po.asp#3 (Accessed: 9 October 2013).
http://www.limestone-pavements.org.uk/distribution.shtml (no date) (Accessed: 4 October).
The Wildlife Trusts (2013) Limestone Pavements. Available at:
http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife/habitats/limestone-pavement (Accessed: 4 October 2013).
Nature in the Dales (2011) The Second Biodiversity Action Plan for the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Available
at: http://www.natureinthedales.org.uk/bap/2020vision-limestone-pavement.pdf (Accessed: 5 October 2013)
SEPM STRATRA (2013) Sheshymore Limestone Gallery. Available at:
http://www.sepmstrata.org/page.aspx?pageid=715 (Accessed: 25 Ocober 2013).