Henderson, I.G., Morris, T., Westbury, T., Woodcock, B.A., Potts, S.G., Ramsay, A & Coombes, R. 2007 Effects of field margin management on bird distributions around cereal fields. Aspects of Applied Biology 81: 53-60.

Abstract

This paper investigates differences in the use of cereal field margins by ground-foraging birds with respect to sward management and seed mix type. Summer margin replicates represented permutations of three margin seed-mixes with three spring management treatments (in years 2002 to 2006) and during winters 2004/05 and 2005/06, permutations of three margin seed-mixes and two management treatments. The analyses suggest that birds were responding to higher prey densities in summer but that the effect of margin management was more pronounced than margin seed-mix in both summer and winter. Margin management was therefore important for providing improved foraging access to birds. An investigation into the proportion of habitat required to maintain populations of invertebrates relative to that which would promote bird access is of future interest. Meanwhile, margin-use also increased across years as treatment effects became more pronounced. Maturation has important ramifications for the monitoring of margin ‘success’ within agri-environment schemes.

Keywords: Saffie, farmland, bird densities, food access, agri-environment schemes

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