Use of set-aside land in winter by declining farmland bird species in the UK

Abstract

Abstract Between 1992 and 1993 over 600 000 ha of arable farmland in the UK were set aside under a production control mechanism of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union. One of the management options for this set-aside land was to leave it as an over-winter fallow with a naturally regenerated green cover. This study was designed to test whether such land was used by seed-eating bird species, populations of many of which have undergone recent severe declines. Five out of six declining species recorded in the study were found in significantly greater numbers on this habitat than would be expected if the birds were randomly distributed over the farmland landscape. The results of this study, covering a wide geographical area, reinforce previous findings of the importance of winter food sources, particularly over-winter stubble fields, to declining farmland seed-eaters. Proposed changes to the CAP under Agenda 2000 include the reduction of the obligatory set-aside rate to zero. These results suggest that such a move might be detrimental to populations of declining farmland birds. There is an urgent need for an agri-environment scheme designed to integrate arable production and conservation objectives, which operates in the wider countryside, includes provision for over-winter stubble fields and is available to every arable farmer. Keywords: AlectorisPerdixPhasianusLarusColumbaAlaudaAnthusMotacillaTroglodytesTurdusPicaCorvusPasserCarduelisFringillaErythacusPrunellaEmberiza