The following is a short summary of the habitat type and how to create/enhance it to a "good" condition. For an informed position, please refer to official up-to-date UKHAB documentation or the UK Government's Condition Assessment Sheet.

This habitat consists of outcrops of rock that are typically horizontal or gently inclined, although a few are steeply inclined. The surface has been dissolved by water over millions of years into ‘paving blocks’, known as clints, with a complex reticulate pattern of crevices (lots of different cracks and fissures in the rock), known as grikes, between them. In other words - it looks a bit like a cobbled street or pavement!

Limestone pavements are a scarce and non-renewable resource. Limestone pavements were exposed by the scouring action of ice sheets during the ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago. Limestone pavements are of both geological and biological importance. The vegetation is rich in vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens, and it varies according to geographical location, altitude, rock type and the presence or absence of grazing animals. Limestone pavement vegetation may also contain unusual combinations of plants, with woodland and wood-edge species well represented in the sheltered grikes. The clints support plants of rocky habitats or are often unvegetated. In the absence of grazing, scrub may develop. In oceanic areas, scrub over limestone pavement is important for epiphytes.

This habitat is made up of a complex and rich vegetation mosaic of different communities. The fissures contain shade-tolerant vascular plants such as Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) and Rustyback (Ceterach officinarum) as well as herbaceous species typical of calcareous woodland such as Hart’s Tongue (Asplenium scolopendrium). The small pockets of soil are occupied by grassland or heath and shrub vegetation.

How to Create / Enhance to a "Good" condition

There are a set of criteria that are used to judge the condition of this habitat. These are listed below.

	Condition Assessment Criteria
A	Cover of typical emergent pavement flora and clint-top vegetation accounts for at least 25% of total vegetation cover (the area excluding bare rock).
B	Cover of invasive non-native species (as listed on Schedule 9 of WCA)1 is less than 1%. Non-native species in this instance include beech Fagus sylvatica and sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus2.
C	Species indicative of suboptimal condition3 make up less than 1% of vegetated ground cover.
D	Less than 25% of live leaves (broadleaved plants), fronds (ferns) or shoots (dwarf shrubs) show signs of grazing or browsing.
E	There is no evidence of damage to the pavement surface.

Condition Assessment Result (out of 5 criteria)	Condition Assessment Score
Passes 5 criteria	Good (3)
Passes 4 criteria	Moderate (2)
Passes 3 or fewer criteria	Poor (1)

Footnotes

Footnote 1 – Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended).

Footnote 2 – Assess this for each distinct habitat parcel. If the distribution of invasive non-native species varies across the habitat, split into parcels accordingly, applying a buffer zone around the invasive non-native species with a size relative to its risk of spread into adjacent habitat, using professional judgement.

Footnote 3 – Species indicative of suboptimal condition for this habitat type include: perennial rye-grass Lolium perenne, false oat-grass Arrhenatherum elatius, crested dog’s-tail Cynosurus cristatus, bramble Rubus fruticosus agg., creeping thistle Cirsium arvense, spear thistle Cirsium vulgare, curled dock Rumex crispus, broad-leaved dock Rumex obtusifolius, common ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris, common nettle Urtica dioica, other pernicious perennial species. There may be additional relevant species local to the region and or site.

Habitat type: Grassland - Upland hay meadows

Habitat Type: Heathland and shrub - Upland heathland

Habitat Types: Tall forbs

Habitat Type: Ruderal/Ephemeral

Habitat Type: Other inland rock and scree