A
meadow is a field vegetated primarily by
grassGrasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns...
and other non-woody plants (
grasslandGrasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
). It may be cut for
hayHay is a generic term for grass or legumes that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal feed, particularly for grazing animals like cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
or
grazedGrazing generally describes a type of predation in which an herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs...
by
livestockLivestock are one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food or fiber, or labor...
such as
cattleCattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, sheep or
goatThe domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep: both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s.
Agricultural meadow
Especially in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
and
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
, the term meadow is commonly used in its original sense to mean a haymeadow; grassland cut annually for
hayHay is a generic term for grass or legumes that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal feed, particularly for grazing animals like cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
(
Old EnglishOld English , also called Anglo-Saxon, is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written in parts of what are now England and south-eastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century. What survives through writing represents primarily the literary...
mædwe). "
PasturePasture is land with low-growing vegetation cover used for grazing of livestock as part of a farm, or in ranching or other unenclosed pastoral systems. Prior to the advent of factory farming, pasture was the primary source of food for grazing animals such as cattle and horses...
" is used in contrast for land which is primarily grazed, which may include grassland ("grass pasture"), but also includes non-grassland habitats such as heathland,
moorlandMoorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas, characterised by low growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland nowadays generally means uncultivated hill land , but the Old English mōr also refers to low-lying wetlands...
and
wood pastureWood pasture is a historical European land management system in which open woodland provided shelter and forage for grazing animals, particularly sheep and cattle, as well as woodland products such as timber for construction and fuel, coppiced stems for wattle and charcoal making and pollarded poles...
. "Grassland" is used to include both meadow and grass pasture.
Transitional meadows
A transitional meadow occurs when a
fieldIn agriculture, a field refers generally to an area of land enclosed or otherwise and used for agricultural purposes such as:* Cultivating crops* Usage as a paddock or, generally, an enclosure of livestock* Land left to lie fallow or as arable land...
,
pasturePasture is land with low-growing vegetation cover used for grazing of livestock as part of a farm, or in ranching or other unenclosed pastoral systems. Prior to the advent of factory farming, pasture was the primary source of food for grazing animals such as cattle and horses...
, farmland, or other cleared land is no longer farmed or heavily
grazedGrazing generally describes a type of predation in which an herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs...
and starts to overgrow. Once meadow conditions are achieved, however, the condition is only temporary because the early colonizers will be shaded out when
woody plantA woody plant is a plant that uses wood as a structural tissue. They are typically perennial plants that have their stems and larger roots reinforced with wood produced adjacent to the vascular tissues: typically the main stem and larger branches and roots are covered by a layer of thickened bark....
s become well-established.
In
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
prior to
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an colonization,
AlgonquianThe Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American Native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...
,
IroquoisThe Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an indigenous people of North America. In the 16th century or earlier, the Iroquois came together in an association known as the Iroquois League, or the "League of Peace and Power"...
and other
Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
people regularly cleared areas of forest to create transitional meadows where
deerDeer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. They include for example Moose, Red Deer, Reindeer, Roe and Chital. Animals from related families within the order Artiodactyla are often also considered to be deer – these include muntjac and water deer...
could find
nutritionNutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
and be
huntedDeer hunting is the activity or sport of pursuing deer which began as early as 7,000 BC. There are numerous types of deer throughout the world that are hunted .- New Zealand :...
. Many places named "
DeerfieldDeerfield is the name of many places in the United States. In some cases, these places correspond to the previous locations of "deer fields" created by Native Americans.*Deerfield, Illinois*Deerfield, Indiana*Deerfield, Kansas*Deerfield, Maryland...
" are located at sites where
Native AmericansNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
once practised this form of
land managementLand management can be defined as the process of managing the use and development of land resources in a sustainable way...
.
Perpetual meadow
A perpetual meadow is one in which environmental factors restrict the growth of woody plants indefinitely. For example:
- Alpine meadow
An alpine meadow is a high-altitude grassland plant community located in an alpine climate, above the treeline of a mountain.Alpine meadows, along with sub-alpine meadows, are part of the Montane grasslands and shrublands biome as defined by the World Wildlife Fund They form where sediments from...
s occur at high elevations and are maintained by harsh climatic conditions
- Coastal meadows
The coast is defined as where the land meets the sea. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the process of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
are maintained by salt spraysSeawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5%. This means that every of seawater has approximately of dissolved salts...
- Desert meadows
A desert is a landscape or region that receives almost no precipitation. Deserts are defined as areas with an average annual precipitation of less than per year, or as areas where more water is lost by evapotranspiration than falls as precipitation. In the Köppen climate classification system,...
are restricted by low precipitationIn meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that is deposited on the Earth's surface. The main forms of precipitation include rain, snow, ice pellets, and graupel...
- Prairies are maintained by periods of severe drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
and are subject to wildfires
- Wet meadow
A wet meadow is a semi-wetland meadow which is saturated with water throughout much of the year. Wet meadows may occur because of poor drainage or the receipt of large amounts of water from rain or melted snow. They may also occur in riparian zones....
s are semi-wetlandA wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with moisture either permanently or seasonally. Such areas may also be covered partially or completely by shallow pools of water. Wetlands include swamps, marshes, and bogs, among others. The water found in wetlands can be saltwater, freshwater,...
areas saturated with water throughout much of the year.
See also
- Coastal plain
A coastal plain is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast and separated from the interior by other features. One of the world's longest coastal plains is located in western South America. The southwestern coastal plain of North America is notable for its species diversity...
- Field
In agriculture, a field refers generally to an area of land enclosed or otherwise and used for agricultural purposes such as:* Cultivating crops* Usage as a paddock or, generally, an enclosure of livestock* Land left to lie fallow or as arable land...
- Flooded grasslands and savannas
Flooded grasslands and savannas are a biome, generally located at subtropical and tropical latitudes, where which are flooded seasonally or year-round.It is characterized by* water : very wet* temperature : warm* soils : nutrient rich soil...
- Flood-meadow
A flood-meadow is an area of grassland or pasture beside a river, subject to seasonal flooding. Flood-meadows are distinct from water-meadows in that the latter are artificially created and maintained, with flooding controlled on a seasonal and even daily basis.- Examples :* Angel & Greyhound...
- Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
- Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland which is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, and other herbaceous plants. Woody plants will be low-growing shrubs. A marsh is different from a swamp,...
- Pampa
The Pampas are the fertile South American lowlands that include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, and Córdoba, most of Uruguay, and the southernmost end of Brazil, the Rio Grande do Sul, covering more than...
- Pasture
Pasture is land with low-growing vegetation cover used for grazing of livestock as part of a farm, or in ranching or other unenclosed pastoral systems. Prior to the advent of factory farming, pasture was the primary source of food for grazing animals such as cattle and horses...
- Plain
In geography, a plain is a land with relatively high relief, as well as flat. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or vegetation may be...
- Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau, also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain...
- Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
- Rangeland
Rangeland refers to expansive, mostly unimproved lands on which a significant proportion of the natural vegetation is native grasses, grass-like plants, forbs, and shrubs. Rangeland also consists of areas seeded to native or adapted introduced species that are managed like native vegetation...
- Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close...
- Sods
Sods is a term used in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia for a mountain top meadow or bog, in an area that is otherwise generally forested...
- Steppe
In physical geography, a steppe is a biome region characterised by grassland plain without trees . The prairie can be considered a steppe. It may be semi-desert, or covered with grass or shrubs or both, depending on the season and latitude...
- Tundra
In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes from Kildin Sami tūndâr, which means "uplands, treeless mountain tract." There are two types of tundra: Arctic tundra and alpine tundra...
- Water-meadow
A water-meadow is an area of grassland subject to controlled irrigation to increase agricultural productivity. Water-meadows were mainly used in Europe from the 16th to the early 20th centuries...
- Wet meadow
A wet meadow is a semi-wetland meadow which is saturated with water throughout much of the year. Wet meadows may occur because of poor drainage or the receipt of large amounts of water from rain or melted snow. They may also occur in riparian zones....
- Veld
The term Veld refers primarily to the wide open rural spaces of South Africa or southern Africa and in particular to certain flatter areas or districts covered in grass or low scrub. The word veld is preserved also in the Afrikaans and Dutch), literally meaning 'field'...
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