Limestone Pavement Partnership

Some cold fieldwork! - Lancaster University The winter months are always fairly quiet for fieldwork but this winter we have had a few cold field visits. This month has involved two so far, the first of these was to the experimental site at Hort...

Check out the latest blog where Carly discussed some cold, winter field work!

www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/research...

Job Opportunity at Lancaster University: Limestone Pavement Partnership Fundraiser The Limestone Pavement Partnership is a project which aims to bring together academics, conservation practitioners and landowners to preserve this threatened habitat by providing evidence to support t...

Reminder of the job opportunity as LPP Fundraiser. The post holder will work with the Limestone Pavement Partnership to seek funding opportunities to support the research and management of limestone pavements. Applications close at the end of the week

hr-jobs.lancs.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...

A busy year for the Limestone Pavement Partnership - Lancaster University 2025 was a busy year for me and the limestone pavement partnership, so I thought it would be nice to reflect on some of the highlights.

2025 was a busy year for the Limestone Pavement Partnership and Carly writes about the year's highlights in the latest blog. Now we look ahead to another exciting year! Read the blog here:
www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/research...

The limestone pavements exhibit has moved to Lancaster University library. So if you're on campus go and check it out! The exhibit will be there until January 23rd.

Tackling scrub! - Lancaster University Over the past couple of months, I have been working with Cumbria Wildlife Trust to set up a scrub management experiment at Hutton Roof. Increased colonisation by tree species, such as sycamore, is a m...

Ezra has written a new blog about his experiences setting up a scrub removal experiement at Hutton Roof. A huge thank you to all the staff and volunteers at Cumbria Wildlife Trust for making it possible. Read about the experiement in the blog below.

www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/research...

Mark your calendars! The date for the next Limestone Pavement Partnership conference is April 28th. This year, the conference will be held at Lancaster University. Come along to connect with others who are interested in limestone pavements.

Job Opportunity at Lancaster University: Limestone Pavement Partnership Fundraiser The Limestone Pavement Partnership is a project which aims to bring together academics, conservation practitioners and landowners to preserve this threatened habitat by providing evidence to support t...

We have an exciting opportunity as Fundraiser for the LPP. The role will work closely with members of the partnership to identify potential funding sources to support research, engagement and management. Please share and get in touch if you're interested!
hr-jobs.lancs.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...

Hannah Risser: Starting my PhD - Lancaster University I started my part-time PhD funded by Envision DTP in October 2024. My research focus is on identifying mechanisms for decline and pathways to recovery in Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) populations i...

Last month, Hannah told us about the start of her PhD in our latest blog. You can read it in the link below.

www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/research...

The limestone pavement exhibit has moved to Ulverston. Go and check it out at the library!

Lancaster Professor wins coveted Quarry Life Award for work on limestone pavements - Lancaster University Professor Carly Stevens of the Lancaster Environment Centre was recently selected as the winner of the national division of Heidelberg Material’s 6th Quarry Life Award for her work on limestone paveme...

You can read about Carly's success in the Quarry Life Award here!

www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/about-us...

The limestone pavement exhibit has moved on to Barrow library this week. The exhibit is only small but contains some interesting content with audio from Professor Carly Stevens and Ezra Tattersall (PhD student) from Lancaster University and Scott Petrek from Cumbria Wildlife Trust.

We would like to introduce Sian! Sian is a new Master's by Research student who will be looking at the soils of limestone pavements - something we know little about. We are very excited for her to join the research group!

Reminder that the limestone pavement exhibit is at Kendal library this week. There's some information about how limestone pavements have changed in recent years and some audio segments to listen to. Thanks again to @britishecologicalsociety.org for funding the project!

A new photo exhibition is at Kendal library for the next 3 weeks. Sponsored by @britishecologicalsociety.org , the exhibit explains the importance of limestone pavements and shows their beauty through photography.

Keep an eye out for updates as the exhibition will move to Barrow and Ulverston next.

Ex-situ limestone pavement conservation - Lancaster University I have been fortunate enough to spend the last couple of days at Shuttleworth Botanic Garden in the Isle of Man. The Isle of Man is a beautiful place, and it is quite a few years since I have had the ...

Carly has recently visited the Isle of Man to support an exciting plan to create a limestone pavement from recovered clints. The latest blog is well worth a read to find out more about this innovative project.

www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/research...

Reminder that we have an exciting opportunity to join the research team at Lancaster University for a master's by research on the soils of limestone pavements.

www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/graduate...

A busy summer! - Lancaster University It has been a busy summer so far and will continue to be over the next few weeks. Ezra has been collecting lots and lots of data on wooded and open pavements while Sophie has been out surveying bryoph...

You can read about what we have been up to this summer in our latest blog post!

www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/research...

A great opportunity to join the research team at Lancaster University for a Master's by Research. The project will focus on the soils of limestone pavements which we know so little about. Please share the opportunity with anyone who might be interested!

www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/graduate...

Finalising the experimental set up - Lancaster University This week I have been able to finalise the set up of my grazing experiment. Earlier this summer I was able to install the grazing exclosures, collect baseline data and welcome the sheep but the grassl...

The grazing experiment at #HortonQuarry is coming along well. You can read the latest update in the #quarrylife blog here!

#quarrylife #quarrylifeawards #qla6

www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/research...

Carly is currently working with photographer Oana Bakovic to show the beauty and ecology of limestone pavements. Thanks to the @britishecologicalsociety.org we will be producing an exhibit for libraries in Cumbria. This orchid was captured at Gait Barrows.

Thanks to funding from @britishecologicalsociety.org Carly has been working with fine art photographer Oana Bakovic to capture the otherworldly beauty of limestone pavements. This image is from Farleton Fell.

My MSc by Research in Limestone Pavements - Lancaster University I started my MSc by Research in January 2025 with a plan to study the bryophytes found in limestone pavements. I had found an interest in bryophytes during my undergrad and was lucky to be provided wi...

Sophie is well into her field work looking at the zonation of bryophytes in limestone pavements. You can learn a bit about her project in this month's blog.
www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/research...

Developing a new protocol for monitoring vegetation in limestone pavement - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - Developing a new protocol for monitoring vegetation in limestone pavement

Carly's latest paper explains a new protocol for surveying limestone pavement vegetation. This will ensure standardisation in monitoring of the habitat.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Exploring the Swedish Alvar - Lancaster University One of the other countries with limestone pavement habitats is Sweden. Swedish Alvar habitats include a range of habitats on limestone, from meadows to limestone pavements so I was very keen to unders...

You can learn more about Carly and Hannah's visit to Sweden in the latest blog post here:

www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/research...

Carly is visiting the beautiful alvar pavements in Sweden this week!

Alvars consist of areas of thin-soiled calcareous grasslands interspersed with limestone outcrops meaning they are very similar to limestone pavements found in the UK.

#limestonepavement #karst #alvar

The field season is upon us. This means we are spoiled with some excellent views... Carly has other priorities!

Connectivity in a Karst landscape: genetic diversity and population differentiation in the rare plant Bird's Foot sedge, Carex ornithopoda Willd. Within Britain the Karst landscape is predominantly upland and is characterised by high nature value grasslands which are home to many plant species of conservation interest. One such species is Care...

Check out the latest research on limestone pavements in the paper below. The study focusses on the connectivity of bird's foot sedge in Karst landscapes.

#limestonepavement #karst

nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

The importance of communication - Lancaster University Last week I hosted the Limestone Pavement Partnership’s first conference, attended by 40 academics, students and conservation professionals from a range of organisations. The conference took place in ...

We are working hard to communicate our grazing experiment with Heidelberg Materials UK at #hortonquarry. Carly discusses the importance of communicating research to the right audience in her latest #quarrylife blog as well as the conference in general on our blogs page.

#qla6 #limestonepavement

Last week, Carly presented the #QuarryLife grazing project at #HortonQuarry to 40 academics and practitioners at the Limestone Pavement Partnership Conference! We are really excited to be working with Heidelberg Materials for the project.

#quarrylifeaward #qla6

Yesterday we held the first Limestone Pavement Partnership conference to great success. Thank you to all speakers and attendees for making it such an interesting event. We had the pleasure of visiting Gait Barrows for a closer look at the magnificent limestone pavements.