Search

Agri‐environment schemes (AES) have been criticized for being inadequately monitored and for not delivering the expected benefits to nature. Consequently, the Welsh Government funded a comprehensive programme of monitoring of AES between 2009 and 2012. The AES assessment focused on Tir Gofal (which translates as "Land in Care") but also included the Organic Farming Scheme, and monitoring focused on a range of taxa of conservation importance: arable plants, grassland fungi, bats (six species), butterflies (three species), birds (five species), water vole and brown hare.Field surveys were carried out on matched farms and fields within and outside of AES. Response variables were spatial trends of abundance, occurrence and species richness, and were modelled against AES status. Existing data were also available for two bird species.Few differences were observed between AES and non‐AES farms and fields. Those that were observed were for species that use arable habitats (which are uncommon in Wales): arable plants, yellowhammers and brown hares. The lack of differences in non‐arable habitats may reflect the smaller contrast between AES and non‐AES management in these habitats. It may also reflect the original condition of habitat entered into AES prescriptions, as most non‐arable prescriptions were defined by mandatory management of existing habitats, rather than optional habitat creation or restoration, which is the case for most arable prescriptions.Despite the lack of differences observed, AES may help to maintain populations of species, making it more likely that they will persist in the landscape. There is evidence, from this monitoring programme and elsewhere, that AES can increase the populations of species, when well targeted and implemented.Policy implications. Our results indicate that Welsh Agri‐environment schemes (AES) have been only partly successful in achieving their stated aim of "maintaining and enhancing species abundance". They can be used to improve AES design and management, both in Wales and more widely, by identifying and promoting effective management interventions, and by identifying ineffective management interventions and seeking alternatives. Comprehensive monitoring of AES, combined with specific targets regarding expected outcomes, is essential to determine whether AES are providing value for money. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the potential of rule-based habitat models to predict the occurrence of some common species in arable conditions. Models were developed for 10 arable plant species, 7 Hemiptera species, 8 carabid species and for 5 bird species whose ecology was sufficiently known. Rule sets linking species occurrence to environmental variables were produced using available literature and expert knowledge about ecological requirements of the selected species. Environmental variables described the nature and condition of habitats at various scales, ranging from vegetation quadrat to the landscape in a 1 km radius of species sampling sites. The performance of the 34 models developed was assessed in two areas of England. Results show the rule-based habitat models developed for arable plants and birds were not very successful with Cohen's k values often < 0.4 for plants and very close to 0 for all bird species. Conversely, rule-based models performed surprisingly well for carabids and Hemiptera with k values on average > 0.4. This suggests that ecological knowledge on these invertebrate species is more complete than we expected. The effect of species prevalence on model performance and the potential application of knowledge-based habitat models in the context of biodiversity assessment are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Although forest fragmentation can greatly affect biodiversity, responses to landscape-scale measures of woodland configuration in Europe have been examined for only a limited range of taxa. Almost all European bat species utilise woodland, however little is known about how they are affected by the spatial arrangement of woodland patches. Here we quantify landscape structure surrounding 1129 roosts of six bat species and a corresponding number of control locations across the UK, to examine associations between roost location and landscape composition, woodland proximity and the size of the nearest broadleaved woodland patch. Analyses are performed at two spatial scales: within 1km of the roost and within a radius equivalent to the colony home-range (3–7km). For four species, models at the 1km scale were better able to predict roost occurrence than those at the home-range scale, although this difference was only significant for Pipistrellus pipistrellus. For all species roost location was positively associated with either the extent or proximity of broadleaved woodland, with the greatest effect of increasing woodland extent seen between 0% and 20% woodland cover. P. pipistrellus, Pipistrellus pygmaeus, Rhinolophus hipposideros, Eptesicus serotinus and Myotis nattereri all selected roosts closer to broadleaved woodland than expected by chance, with 90% of roosts located within 440m of broadleaved woodland. Roost location was not affected by the size of the nearest broadleaved patch (patches ranged from 0.06–2798ha±126SD). These findings suggest that the bat species assessed here will benefit from the creation of an extensive network of woodland patches, including small patches, in landscapes with little existing woodland cover. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Within agricultural landscapes, linear features such as hedgerows and tree-lines provide valuable habitat for many species. We use data from 315 transects, completed as part of a national acoustic survey of bat distribution, to examine the incidence of four bat species adjacent to linear features in rural areas. The use of linear features was assessed in relation to hedgerow width, tree density, the presence of water and woodland proximity. To examine the effect of tree density, linear features were classified as either hedgerows without trees, hedgerows with sparse trees (comprising <50% tree canopy) or tree-lines (>50% tree canopy). The use of linear features by Pipistrellus pipstrellus was not affected by tree density; linear features of all types were associated with a similar increase in P. pipistrellus incidence. The use of linear features by Pipistrellus pygmaeus was dependent on both tree density and the proximity of woodland; only linear features containing trees provided an increase in P. pygmaeus incidence regardless of woodland proximity. P. pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus incidence was not affected by hedgerow width or the presence of water. Incidence of Nyctalus noctula and Eptesicus serotinus was unaffected by the density of linear features of any type. Many agri-environment schemes offer financial incentives for the creation and management of hedgerows. Optimising the biodiversity gain provided by linear features will maximise the effectiveness of these schemes. Agri-environment measures that encourage the provision and retention of hedgerow trees will benefit bats in agricultural landscapes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights • Land-use and habitats were broadly similar between TG and control farms. • New hedges, uncropped margins and young trees were more prevalent on TG farms. • Encounter rates of target bat species were high, and occurrence similar, on both TG and control farms. • Where present, the intensity of activity of N. noctula / Nyctalus group was higher on control farms. • There were no relationships between bat activity and time under TG management. Abstract Agricultural intensification was a major driver of declines in western European wildlife populations during the twentieth century, including those of bats. Agri-environment schemes are advocated as the key government-funded mechanism to restore biodiversity, but evidence for their effects has been mixed. We examined the response of six bat species to Tir Gofal (TG), a Welsh AES that operated from 1999 to 2011. A large-scale multi-site study compared bat activity and key habitat variables on TG farms paired with control farms not in the scheme. Observations were made over three years (2009 to 2011) using three types of bat detector survey. Pipistrellus pipistrellus , P. pygmaeus , Myotis daubentonii , Rhinolophus hipposideros and R. ferrumequinum showed similar overall and foraging activity on TG and control farms (occurrence, intensity of activity where present). Occurrence of Nyctalus noctula and Nyctalus group was also similar on both farm types, but where they were present, the intensity of their activity was higher on control farms. The lack of influence of TG status on bat activity may reflect the close similarity in occurrence and condition of many key habitats on the two farm types and should be seen in the context of a mainly traditional extensively farmed landscape. Habitat prescriptions may have been insufficiently mature, implemented at too low density or lacking roosting provision to stimulate a species response, or may have had greater impact in a more intensively farmed landscape where less high quality bat habitat was available. A more targeted approach to creating and enhancing field and landscape scale roosting, foraging and commuting resources may be needed to effect positive responses in bat populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]