Mammals, agri-environment schemes and set-aside - What are the putative benefits?

Mammal Review

Volumn 37, Issue 4, 2007, Pages 259-277

  MacDonald, David W ^a   Tattersall, F H ^a   Service, K M ^a,c   Firbank, L G ^b,d   Feber, R E ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD   (United Kingdom)

^b CENTRE FOR ECOLOGY AND HYDROLOGY   (United Kingdom)

^c UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON   (United Kingdom)

^d ABERYSTWYTH UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Conservation headlands; Field margins; Hedgerows; Landscape; Organic farming; Wood mice

Indexed keywords

AGRICULTURAL INTENSIFICATION; AGRICULTURAL LAND; AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT; BIODIVERSITY; HEDGEROW; ORGANIC FARMING; POPULATION DECLINE; RODENT; SPECIES CONSERVATION;

INVERTEBRATA; MAMMALIA; MUS;

EID: 36749050974     PISSN: 03051838     EISSN: 13652907     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2907.2007.00100.x     Document Type: Conference Paper

References (101)

1. Andrews, J. (1992) Some practical problems in set-aside management for wildlife. British Wildlife, 3, 329-336.
2. Asher, J., Warren, M., Fox, R., Harding, P., Jeffcoate, G. & Jeffcoate, S. (2001) The Millennium Atlas of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
3. Aude, E., Tybirk, K. & Bruus Pedersen, M. (2003) Vegetation diversity of conventional and organic hedgerows in Denmark. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 99, 135-147.
4. Barr, C.J., Bunce, R.G.H., Clarke, R.T., Fuller, R.M., Furse, M.T., Gillespie, M.K., Groom, G.B., Hallam, C.J., Horning, M., Howard, D.C. & Ness, M.J. (1993) Countryside Survey 1990: Main Report. Department of Environment, Eastcote, UK.
5. Battershill, M.R.J. & Gilg, A.W. (1996) Traditional farming and agro-environment policy in southwest England: Back to the future? Geoforum, 27, 133-147.
6. Benton, T.G., Vickery, J.A. & Wilson, J.D. (2003) Farmland biodiversity: Is habitat heterogeneity the key? Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 18, 182-188.
7. Birks, J.D.S. & Kitchener, A.C. (1999) The Distribution and Status of the Polecat Mustela Putorius in Britain in the 1990s. The Vincent Wildlife Trust, London, UK.
8. Bradbury, R.B. & Allen, D.S. (2003) Evaluation of the impact of the pilot UK arable stewardship scheme on breeding and wintering birds. Bird Study, 50, 131-141.
9. Bright, P. (1998) Behaviour of specialist species in habitat corridors: arboreal dormice avoid corridor gaps. Animal Behaviour, 56, 1485-1490.
10. Bright, P. & MacPherson, D. (2002) Hedgerow management, dormice and biodiversity. English Nature Research Report No. 454. English Nature, Peterborough, UK.
11. Brown, R.W. (1999) Margin/field interfaces and small mammals. Aspects of Applied Biology, 54, 203-210.
12. Browne, S.J. & Aebischer, N.J. (2003) Arable Stewardship: Impact of the Pilot Scheme on the Brown Hare and Grey Partridge after Five Years. Report to Defra (Contract ref. RMP1870vs3).
13. Chamberlain, D.E., Wilson, J.D. & Fuller, R.J. (1999) A comparison of bird populations on organic and conventional farm systems in southern Britain. Biological Conservation, 88, 307-320.
14. Chamberlain, D.E., Fuller, R.J., Bunce, R.G.H., Duckworth, J.C. & Shrubb, M. (2000) Changes in the abundance of farmland birds in relation to the timing of agricultural intensification in England and Wales. Journal of Applied Ecology, 37, 771-788.
15. Clarke, J. (1992) Set Aside. BCPC Monograph no. 50. British Crop Protection Council, Farnham.
16. Conrad, K.F., Woiwod, I.P., Parsons, M., Fox, R. & Warren, M.S. (2004) Long term population trends in widespread British moths. Journal of Insect Conservation, 8, 119-136.
17. Critchley, C.N.R., Allen, D.S., Fowbert, J.A., Mole, A.C. & Gundrey, A.L. (2004) Habitat establishment on arable land: Assessment of an agri-environment scheme in England, UK. Biological Conservation, 119, 429-442.
18. Defra (2002) The Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food: Facing the Future. Defra, London, UK.
19. Defra (2004) Quality of Life Counts. Indicators for a Strategy for Sustainable Development for the United Kingdom: Updating the Baseline Assessments Made in 1999. Defra, London, UK.
20. Dendy, J., McKillop, I.G., Fox, S.M. & Western, G.J. (2003) Quantifying the costs of crop damage by rabbits. In: Conservation and Conflict: Mammals and Farming in Britain (Ed. by F.H. Tattsersall & W.J. Manley), pp. 21-219. Linnean Society Occasional Publications, Westbury Publishing, West Yorkshire, UK.
21. Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1999) A Better Quality of Life: A Strategy for Sustainable Development for the United Kingdom. The Stationery Office, London, UK.
22. Donald, P.F. (1998) Changes in the abundance of invertebrates and plants on British farmland. British Wildlife, 9, 279-289.
23. Donald, P.F., Green, R.E. & Heath, M.F. (2001) Agricultural intensification and the collapse of Europe's farmland bird populations. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B, 268, 25-29.
24. Duverge, P.L. & Jones, G. (2003) Use of farmland habitats by greater horseshoe bats. In: Conservation and Conflict: Mammals and Farming in Britain (Ed. by F.H. Tattsersall & W.J. Manley), pp. 64-81. Linnean Society Occasional Publications, Westbury Publishing, West Yorkshire, UK.
25. Eden, S. & Eden, R. (1999) Dormice in Dorset - the importance of hedges and scrub. British Wildlife, 10, 185-189.
26. Feber, R.E., Smith, H. & Macdonald, D.W. (1996) The effects on butterfly abundance of the management of uncropped edges of arable fields. Journal of Applied Ecology, 33, 1191-1205.
27. Feber, R.E., Firbank, L.G., Johnson, P.J. & Macdonald, D.W. (1997) The effects of organic farming on pest and non-pest butterfly abundance. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 64, 133-139.
28. Feber, R.E., Bell, J.J., Firbank, L.G., Johnson, P.J. & Macdonald, D.W. (1998) The effects of organic farming on surface-active spider assemblages in wheat in southern England, U.K. Journal of Arachnology, 26, 190-202.
29. Firbank, L.G. (2005) Striking a new balance between agricultural production and biodiversity. Annals of Applied Biology, 146, 163-175.
30. Firbank, L.G., Arnold, H.R., Eversham, B.C., Mountford, J.O., Radford, G.L., Telfer, M.G., Treweek, J.R., Webb, N.R.C. & Wells, T.C.E. (1993) Managing Set-aside Land for Wildlife. ITE Research publication 7. HMSO, London, UK.
31. Firbank, L.G., Smart, S.M., Crabb, J., Critchley, C.N.R., Fowbert, J.W., Fuller, R.J., Gladders, P., Green, D.B., Henderson, I. & Hill, M.O. (2003) Agronomic and ecological costs and benefits of set-aside in England. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 95, 73-85.
32. Fitzgibbon, C. (1997) Small mammals in farm woodlands: The effects of habitat, isolation and surrounding land use patterns. Journal of Applied Ecology, 34, 530-539.
33. Flowerdew, J.R. (1976) Ecological methods. Mammal Review, 6, 123-159.
34. Fuller, R.J., Gregory, R.D., Gibbons, D.W., Marchant, J.H., Wilson, J.D., Baillie, S.R. & Carter, N. (1995) Population declines and range contractions among lowland farmland birds in Britain. Conservation Biology, 9, 1425-1441.
35. Fuller, R.J., Norton, L.R., Feber, R.E., Johnson, P.J., Chamberlain, D.E., Joys, A.C., Mathews, F., Stuart, R.C., Townsend, M.C., Manley, W.J., Wolfe, M.S., Macdonald, D.W. & Firbank, L.G. (2005) The scale of benefits to biodiversity from organic farming. Biology Letters, 1, 431-434.
36. Gurnell, J. & Flowerdew, J.R. (1990) Live Trapping Small Mammals: A Practical Guide. The Mammal Society, London, UK.
37. Haines-Young, R.H., Barr, C.J., Black, H.I.J., Briggs, D.J., Bunce, R.G.H., Clarke, R.T., Cooper, A., Dawson, F.H., Firbank, L.G., Fuller, R.M., Furse, M.T., Gillespie, M.K., Hill, R., Hornung, M., Howard, D.C., McCann, T., Morecroft, M.D., Petit, S., Sier, A.R.J., Smart, S.M., Smith, G.M., Stott, A.P., Stuart, R.C. & Watkins, J.W. (2000) Accounting for Nature: Assessing Habitats in the Countryside. DETR, London, UK.
38. Harris, S., Morris, P., Wray, S. & Yalden, D. (1995) A Review of British Mammals: Population Estimates and Conservation Status of British Mammals other than Cetaceans. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough, UK.
39. Henderson, I.G. & Evans, A.D. (2000) Responses of farmland birds to set-aside and its management. In: Ecology and Conservation of Lowland Farmland Birds (Ed. by N.J. Aebischer, A.D. Evans, P.V. Grice & J.A. Vickery), pp. 339-422. British Ornithologists' Union, Tring, UK.
40. Hole, D.G., Perkins, A.J., Wilson, J.D., Alexander, I.H., Grice, P.V. & Evans, A.D. (2005) Does organic farming benefit biodiversity? Biological Conservation, 122, 113-130.
41. Hutchings, M.R. & Harris, S. (1996) The Current Status of the Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus) in Britain. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough, UK.
42. Hutson, A.M., Mickleburgh, S.P. & Racey, P.A. (2001) Global Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan: Microchiropteran Bats. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
43. Hyvonen, T., Ketoja, E., Salonen, J., Jalli, H. & Tiainen, J. (2003) Weed species diversity and community composition in organic and conventional cropping of spring cereals. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 97, 131-149.
44. Jacob, J. (2003) Short term effects of farming practices on populations of common voles. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 95, 321-325.
45. Kleijn, D. & Sutherland, W.J. (2003) How effective are European agri-environment schemes in conserving and promoting biodiversity? Journal of Applied Ecology, 40, 947-969.
46. Kleijn, D., Berendse, F., Smit, R. & Gilissen, N. (2001) Agri-environment schemes do not effectively protect biodiversity in Dutch agricultural landscapes. Nature, 413, 723-725.
47. Kleijn, D., Berendse, F., Smit, R., Gilissen, N., Smit, J., Brak, B. & Groenevld, R. (2004) Ecological effectiveness of agri-environment schemes in different agricultural landscapes in the Netherlands. Conservation Biology, 18, 775-786.
48. Kotzageorgis, G.C. & Mason, C.F. (1997) Small mammal populations in relation to hedgerow structure in an arable landscape. Journal of Zoology, 242, 425-434.
49. Krebs, J.R., Wilson, J.D., Bradbury, R.B. & Siriwardena, G.M. (1999) The second Silent Spring? Nature, 400, 611-612.
50. Luff, M.L. & Woiwod, I.P. (1995) Insects as indicators of land use change: A European perspective, focusing on moths and ground beetles. In: Insects in a Changing Environment (Ed. by R. Harrington & N.E. Stork), pp. 399-422. Academic Press, London, UK.
51. Macdonald, D.W. & Johnson, P.J. (2000) Farmers and the custody of the countryside: Trends in loss and conservation of non-productive habitat. Biological Conservation, 94, 221-234.
52. Macdonald, D.W. & Smith, H.E. (1991) New perspectives on agro-ecology: Between theory and practice in the agricultural ecosystem. In: The Ecology of Temperate Cereal Fields (Ed. by L.G. Firbank, N. Carter, J.F. Darbyshire & G.R. Potts), pp. 413-448. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, UK.
53. Macdonald, D.W. & Tattersall, F.H. (2001) Britain's Mammals: The Challenge for Conservation. People's Trust for Endangered Species, London.
54. Macdonald, D.W., Feber, R.E., Tattersall, F.H. & Johnson, P.J. (2000a) Ecological experiments in farmland conservation. In: Ecological Consequences of Habitat Heterogeneity (Ed. by M. Hutchings), pp. 357-385. Blackwell Science, Oxford, UK.
55. Macdonald, D.W., Tew, T.E., Todd, I.A., Garner, J.P. & Johnson, P.J. (2000b) Arable habitat use by wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) 3. A farm-scale experiment on the effects of crop rotation. Journal of Zoology, 250, 313-320.
56. Macdonald, D.W., Tew, T.E. & Todd, I.A. (2004) The ecology of weasels (Mustela nivalis) on mixed farmland in southern England. Biologia, Bratislava, 59, 233-239.
57. McDonald, R.A. & Birks, J.D.S. (2003) Effects of farming practice and wildlife management on small mustelid carnivores. In: Conservation and Conflict: Mammals and Farming in Britain (Ed. by F.H. Tattsersall & W.J. Manley), pp. 106-119. Linnean Society Occasional Publications, Westbury Publishing, West Yorkshire, UK.
58. McDonald, R.A., Harris, S., Turnbull, G., Brown, P. & Fletcher, M. (1998) Anticoagulant rodenticides in stoats (Mustela ermine) and weasels (M.nivalis) in England. Environmental Pollution, 103, 17-23.
59. MAFF (1998) Arable Area Payments 1998/1999, Explanatory Guide: Parts 1 & 2. MAFF, London, UK.
60. Mallorie, H.C. & Flowerdew, J.R. (1994) Woodland small mammal population ecology in Britain: A preliminary review of the Mammal Society survey of Wood Mice Apodemus sylvaticus and Bank Voles Clethrionomys glareolus, 1982-1987. Mammal Review, 24, 1-16.
61. Montgomery, W.I. & Dowie, M. (1993) The distribution and population regulation of the wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus on field boundaries of pastoral farmland. Journal of Applied Ecology, 30, 783-791.
62. Moore, N.P., Askew, N. & Bishop, J.D. (2003) Small mammals in new farm woodlands. Mammal Review, 33, 101-104.
63. Moreby, S.J., Aebischer, N., Southway, S. & Sotherton, N. (1994) A comparison of the flora and arthropod fauna of organically and conventionally grown winter wheat in southern England. Annals of Applied Biology, 125, 13-27.
64. Ouin, A., Paillat, G., Butet, A. & Burel, F. (2000) Spatial dynamics of wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) in an agricultural landscape under intensive use in the Mont Saint Michel Bay (France). Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 78, 159-165.
65. Panek, M. & Kamieniarz, R. (1999) Relationships between density of brown hare (Lepus europaeus) and landscape structure in Poland in the years 1981-1995. Acta Theriologica,., 44, 67-75.
66. Parish, D. & Sotherton, N. (2004) Game crops and threatened farmland songbirds in 11 Scotland: A step towards halting population declines? Bird Study, 57, 107-112.
67. Plesner Jensen, S. (1993) Temporal changes in food preferences of wood mice, Apodemus sylvaticus L. Oecologia, 94, 76-82.
68. Putman, R. & Kjellander, P. (2003) Deer damage to cereals: Economic significance and predisposing factors. In: Conservation and Conflict: Mammals and Farming in Britain (Ed. by F.H. Tattsersall & W.J. Manley), pp. 86-197. Linnean Society Occasional Publications, Westbury Publishing, West Yorkshire, UK.
69. Pywell, R.F., Warman, E.A., Hulmes, L., Hulmes, S., Nutall, P., Sparks, T.H., Critchley, C.N.R. & Sherwood, A. (2006) Effectivness of new agri-environment schemes in providing foraging resources for bumblebees in intensively farmed landscapes. Biological Conservation, 129, 192-206.
70. Robinson, R.A. & Sutherland, R.J. (2002) Post war changes in arable farming and biodiversity in Great Britain. Journal of Applied Ecology, 39, 157-176.
71. Rogers, L.M. & Gorman, M.L. (1995) The population dynamics of small mammals living in set-aside and surrounding semi-natural and crop land. Journal of Zoology (London), 236, 451-464.
72. Shore, R.F., Meek, W.R., Sparks, T.H., Pywell, R.F. & Nowakowski, M. (2005) Will Environmental Stewardship enhance small mammal abundance on intensively managed farmland? Mammal Review, 35, 277-284.
73. Smith, H., Feber, R.E., Johnson, P., McCallum, K., Plesner Jensen, S., Younes, M. & Macdonald, D.W. (1993) The Conservation Management of Arable Field Margins. English Nature Science no. 18. English Nature, Peterborough, UK.
74. Smith, R.K., Jennings, N.V., Robinson, A. & Harris, S. (2004) Conservation of European hares Lepus europaeus in Britain: Is increasing habitat heterogeneity in farmland the answer? Journal of Applied Ecology, 41, 1092-1102.
75. Smith, R.K., Jennings, N.V. & Harris, S. (2005) A quantitative analysis of the abundance and demography of European hares Lepus europaeus in relation to habitat type, intensity of agriculture and climate. Mammal Review, 35, 1-24.
76. Sotherton, N.W. (1991) Conservation Headlands: A practical combination of intensive cereal farming and conservation. In: The Ecology of Temperate Cereal Fields (Ed. by L.G. Firbank, N. Carter, J.F. Darbyshire & G.R. Potts), pp. 373-397. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, UK.
77. Sotherton, N.W. (1998) Land use changes and the decline of farmland wildlife: An appraisal of the set-aside approach. Biological Conservation, 83, 259-268.
78. Sotherton, N.W. & Self, M.J. (2000) Changes in plant and arthropod biodiversity on lowland farmland: An overview. In: Ecology and Conservation of Lowland Farmland Birds (Ed. by N.J. Aebischer, A.D. Evans, P.V. Grice & J.A. Vickery), pp. 26-35. British Ornithologists' Union, Tring, UK.
79. Sotherton, N.W., Boatman, N.D. & Rands, M.R.W. (1989) The 'Conservation Headland'experiment in cereal ecosystems. Entomologist, 108, 135-143.
80. Strachan, R. & Holmes-Ling, P. (2003) Restoring Water Voles and Other Biodiversity to the Wider Countryside: A Report on the Chichester Coastal Plain Sustainable Farming Partnership. Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
81. Strachan, R. & Jeffries, D.J. (1993) The Water Vole (Arvicola Terrestris) in Britain 1989-1990: Its Distribution and Changing Status. The Vincent Wildlife Trust, London, UK.
82. Tattersall, F.H. & Macdonald, D.W. (2003) Wood mice in the arable ecosystem. In: Conservation and Conflict: Mammals and Farming in Britain (Ed. by F.H. Tattsersall & W.J. Manley), pp. 82-96. Linnean Society Occasional Publications, Westbury Publishing, West Yorkshire, UK.
83. Tattersall, F.H., Hart, B.J., Manley, W.J., Macdonald, D.W. & Feber, R.E. (1999a) Small mammals on set-aside blocks and margins. Aspects of Applied Biology, 54, 131-138.
84. Tattersall, F.H., Hart, B.J., Manley, W.J., Macdonald, D.W. & Feber, R.E. (1999b) Does the method of set-aside establishment affect its use by wood mice? Journal of Zoology (London), 249, 472-476.
85. Tattersall, F.H., Avundo, A.E., Manley, W.J., Hart, B.J. & Macdonald, D.W. (2000) Managing set-aside for field voles (Microtus agrestis). Biological Conservation, 96, 123-128.
86. Tattersall, F.H., Macdonald, D.W., Hart, B.J., Manley, W.J. & Feber, R.E. (2001) Habitat use by wood mice in a changeable arable landscape. Journal of Zoology (London), 255, 487-494.
87. Tellaria, J.L., Santos, T. & Alcantara, M. (1991) Abundance and food-searching intensity of wood mice in fragmented forests. Journal of Mammology, 72, 183-187.
88. Tew, T.E. & Macdonald, D.W. (1993) The effects of harvest on arable wood mice Apodemus sylvaticus. Biological Conservation, 65, 279-283.
89. Tew, T.E., Macdonald, D.W. & Rands, M.R.W. (1992) Herbicide application affects microhabitat use by arable wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus). Journal of Applied Ecology, 29, 532-539.
90. Tew, T.E., Todd, I.A. & Macdonald, D.W. (2000) Arable habitat use by wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus). 2. Micro-habitat. Journal of Zoology (London), 250, 305-311.
91. Thomas, S.R., Noordhuis, R., Holland, J.M. & Goulson, D. (2002) Botanical diversity of beetle banks: Effects of age and comparison with conventional arable field margins in southern UK. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 93, 403-412.
92. Todd, I.A., Tew, T.E. & Macdonald, D.W. (2000) Arable habitat use by wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus). 1. Macrohabitat. Journal of Zoology (London), 250, 299-303.
93. Trout, R. (2003) Rabbits in the farmland ecosystem. In: Conservation and Conflict: Mammals and Farming in Britain (Ed. by F.H. Tattsersall & W.J. Manley), pp. 198-210. Linnean Society Occasional Publications, Westbury Publishing, West Yorkshire, UK.
94. Vaughan, N., Lucas, E., Harris, S. & White, P.C.L. (2003) Habitat associations of European hares Lepus europaeus in England and Wales: implications for farmland management. Journal of Applied Ecology, 40, 163-175.
95. Vickery, J.A., Tallowin, J.T., Feber, R.E., Asteraki, E.A., Atkinson, P.W., Fuller, R.J. & Brown, V.K. (2001) Effects of grassland management on birds and their food resources, with special reference to recent changes in fertiliser, mowing and grazing practices on lowland neutral grasslands in Britain. Journal of Applied Ecology, 38, 647-664.
96. Vickery, J.A., Bradbury, R.B., Henderson, I.G., Eaton, M.A. & Grice, P.V. (2004) The role of agri-environment schemes and farm management practices in reversing the decline of farmland birds in England. Biological Conservation, 119, 19-39.
97. Vilhelmsen, H. (2003) Status of dormice (Muscardinus avellanarius) in Denmark. Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungarica, 49 (Suppl. 1), 139-145.
98. Walsh, A.L. & Harris, S. (1996) Foraging habitat preferences of Vespertilionid bats in Britain. Journal of Applied Ecology, 33, 508-518.
99. Wickramasinghe, L.P., Harris, S., Jones, G. & Jennings, N.V. (2003) Bat activity and species richness on organic and conventional farms: impact of agricultural intensification. Journal of Applied Ecology, 40, 984-993.
100. Wickramasinghe, L.P., Harris, S., Jones, G. & Jennings, N.V. (2004) Abundance and species richness of nocturnal insects on organic and conventional farms: Effects of agricultural intensification on bat foraging. Conservation Biology, 18, 1283-1292.
101. Wilson, P.J. (1992) Britain's arable weeds. British Wildlife, 3, 149-161.