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Novel field margin management to enhance invertebrate biodiversity in intensive livestock farms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2017

A.J. Ramsay ,
S.G. Potts ,
B.A. Woodcock ,
T. Tscheulin ,
V.K. Brown  and
J.R.B. Tallowin
A.J. Ramsay*
Affiliation:
Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, Reading University, RG66AR, U.K.
S.G. Potts
Affiliation:
Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, Reading University, RG66AR, U.K.
B.A. Woodcock
Affiliation:
Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, Reading University, RG66AR, U.K.
T. Tscheulin
Affiliation:
Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, Reading University, RG66AR, U.K.
V.K. Brown
Affiliation:
Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, Reading University, RG66AR, U.K.
J.R.B. Tallowin
Affiliation:
Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, North Wyke, EX20 2SB, U.K.
*
Email: a.j.ramsay@reading.ac.uk
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Extract

Most agricultural grassland in lowland UK is species-poor and structurally uniform. Management intensification has had a deleterious affect on the biodiversity of invertebrates and the suitability of grassland as feeding and breeding habitat for birds (Vickery et al. 20001). The PEBIL project (Defra BD 1444: Potential for Enhancing Biodiversity in Intensive Livestock Farms) is investigating the effects of structural and plant species manipulation on the invertebrate communities of field margins. The different treatments are designed to test the effects of increasing amounts of sward structural heterogeneity, in terms of canopy height, architectural complexity & botanical composition, on faunal abundance and diversity as well as improving food resources for birds.

Type
Theatre Presentations
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 2005 , 2005 , pp. 66
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 2005

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References

Vickery, J.A., Tallowin, J.R., Feber, R.E., Asteraki, E.J., Atkinson, P.W., Fuller, R.J., and Brown, V.K. 2001. The management of lowland neutral grasslands in Britain: effects of agricultural practices on birds and their food resources. Journal of Applied Ecology, 42: 647–664.CrossRefGoogle Scholar