Farming with Nature: Promoting Biodiversity Across Europe Through Partridge Conservation

This book sets out an approach for successfully combining a viable farming business with increasing biodiversity and other public goods. It draws on scientific research and demonstration projects from across Europe and outlines habitat measures designed to benefit the Grey Partridge.

The reason the Grey Partridge is the focus of this book is because it is an indicator species for a healthy farmed habitat. As such, there are several sections about other species that will benefit from the Grey Partridge conservation such as Skylarks, Harvest Mice and Butterflies, which is most relevant in modern conservation.

This book is aimed for famers, habitat managers and policy makers who wish to encourage partridge conservation. Therefore, it talks a lot about case examples and how specifically to encourage this bird on the ground, such as which specific plants to grow for food and shelter in winter. Therefore, this book is perhaps less relevant for anyone who is interested in general information about partridges and their natural history.

The book is full of photographs, illustrations and figures and is very short, so can be read in just an hour or two, making it a good 'go-to' book for those who don't have time to pour over endless papers. Because of this, it is a good reference book, easy to flick through to the relevant pages if you are using it to draw a habitat management plan.

Book reviewed by Gillian Birtles