Hardy upland cattle breeds are being reintroduced to the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The �1.27m Limestone Country Project will bring back traditional beef cattle, such as the Dexter, Shorthorn and Galloway, to the Malham, Arncliffe and Ingleborough areas.

These animals will recreate mixed livestock farming, which has declined over the last 40 years with the rise in sheep production at the expense of cattle.

Conservationists say the project will help to keep the area's internationally important environment of limestone pavement, blue-moor grassland and lime-rich wetlands.

The Yorkshire Dales is known for its landscape

Dr Tim Thom, the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority's ecologist, said farm practices had changed the ecology of the Dales.

"This has led to a loss in the natural diversity of the habitats in the area as sheep are highly selective grazers and only eat the more palatable grasses, leaving a greater abundance of rank and unpalatable grasses," he said.

"The advantage of reintroducing hardy cattle breeds, who are less selective grazers, is that they graze more consistently and will leave a richer diversity of the lime-loving grasses and wildflowers for which the limestone country of the Dales is famous."

The project is being funded by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, English Nature, the National Trust and the European Union LIFE Fund.