Abstract
Th e intensity of management of lowland grassland fi elds in the
United Kingdom, coupled with the fact that such grasslands
dominate much of the lowland landscape, means that there are
now few opportunities for many plants, invertebrates, birds, or
mammals to survive. Th e Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) has
investigated whether fencing off the margins of such fi elds next to
watercourses to control diff use pollution has any positive impacts
on biodiversity, based on assessments of vegetation composition
and condition and structure of assemblages of invertebrates of
importance as foodstuff s to farmland birds. Fencing watercourses
increased the abundance of key groups of invertebrates. However,
the invertebrate species diversity was not increased unless the
margins were ≥5.4 m in width. Margins established in the study
area to prevent access by livestock to watercourses or to enhance
biodiversity are generally ≤2.6 m wide and are therefore unlikely
to provide conditions for additional invertebrate species to use.
Th e dense, tall swards within such margins are also unlikely to
provide foraging opportunities for farmland birds. Management
(such as low-intensity grazing by livestock in the margins) is
essential to provide the conditions required for these groups, but
this could confl ict with the diff use pollution mitigation aims. A
compromise is proposed whereby limited autumn/winter grazing
by livestock could be used to open the vegetation structure in the
margins. Grazing by livestock at that time may be acceptable since
it is not occurring in the period of main diff use pollution concern
(i.e., the fecal contamination of watercourses and bathing waters
in the spring and summer). It is also essential that a landscapescale
approach is taken, driven by knowledge of the full needs of
the species concerned, when deciding where best to target agrienvironmental
actions aimed at farmland bird conservation.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 355 - 363 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of Environmental Quality |
Volume | 41 |
Issue number | 2 |
Publication status | First published - 2012 |
Bibliographical note
102331765800023
65800024
Keywords
- Biodiversity
- Buffer strips
- Conflict
- Farmland
- Riparian buffer strips
- Value