Securing Biodiversity in Breckland - European Commission

Key Recommendations for Cultivated Margins of the Breckland Biodiversity AuditArable Workshop(Panter, Nichols and Dolman 2010)1. With HLS agreements, cultivated margins should be included as prescription HF20, not the“more of the same” HF11. This would allow NE to use a tailored prescription to maximisebenefit (and also pays the farmer an additional £40/ha)2. NE should devise a Breckland-specific HF20 prescription (drawing from the workshopdiscussions) which can be promoted across Breckland by NE. This maximises benefits,increases adviser/farmer confidence, and would be quicker for NE advisers than tailoringindividually to farms.3. Margins should be at least 6m wide to alleviate effects of spray/irrigator drift.4. Longer 6m margins may be preferable to a shorter length of 12m margins as edge benefitsand juxtaposition of the cultivated margin and grass baulk are important, while seed densitiesare greater near field margins5. Desirable locations to target for cultivated margins are anywhere on light soils (chalky andacid) but especially alongside old tracks, tussocky verges and grassland areas, on lines of oldhedges and pine-lines, near the edge of Thetford Forest, at locations of known rare plant andinvertebrate species and at existing well-managed ESA cultivated margins.6. Undesirable locations are on heavier or peaty soils (unless there is a known rare species whichwill benefit), in shaded locations (e.g. north sides of woods) and under over-hanging trees.7. Cultivations should be annual or biennial, since both have benefits, but this must be tied tostronger indicators of success in prescriptions, e.g. spray off once perennial grasses reach>50% cover.8. Rotational and non-rotational approaches each have benefits, so either approach isappropriate. However a presumption towards non-rotational agreements is compatible withconservation of dispersal-limited invertebrates and may be particularly valuable on ESA nonrotationalmargins that have accrued value over time.9. Where existing ESA cultivated margins are being managed well, they are likely to haveaccrued benefits for biodiversity over time. These should be maintained as non-rotationalmargins wherever possible under new HLS agreements.10. Cultivation timing should be varied from September through to March. Different cultivationtimings have benefits for different species. Practicalities of management mean it is likely thatheadlands will be cultivated at the same time as preparing the adjacent field (although this isnot always the case), thus there will be inherent variability among headlands and yearsdepending on cropping patterns.11. Cultivation timing should only be fixed to a specific month/period when conservation priorityspecies are known to be present and the optimal cultivation timing for these is also known.Given the presence of long term seedbanks and the high potential for population increase ofinvertebrates given appropriate conditions, variability in timing is unlikely to be a seriousproblem in most cases.On farmland, a high priority is to ensure that potential accumulated benefits already achievedthrough public investment in the cultivated margins under ESA agreements be sustained by transitionof key sites into Environmental Stewardship (ES).165