Farmland

FARMING AND LAND MANAGEMENT LEAFLETS

Invertebrates play a vital role in the countryside – they pollinate our crops, eat crop pests such as aphids and help to maintain soil and water quality, as well as being an essential part of the food chain. They are also fascinating and often beautiful animals in their own right. However, invertebrate numbers have been showing an alarming decline in the past few decades, having knock-on effects on other wildlife.

Habitat Mosaic Sheets

To support a range of invertebrates, the countryside should be a rich mix of smaller habitats (a mosaic), a mosaic allows areas to support invertebrates throughout their life cycles. As invertebrates often need different microhabitats to feed in (e.g. flowers, shrubs), than they do for breeding (e.g. bareground, water) and for shelter (e.g. hedgerows, grass tussocks). Buglife with support from Natural England have produced a series of sheets to allow land managers and farmers to recognise, create and maintain the microhabitats that make up a mosaic. See links to these sheets below:

Chalk Downland

Coastal Grazing Marsh

Wood Pasture

Heathland

Species Management Sheets

Shrill carder bee (Bombus slyvarum) © MJ Clark

There are lots of things that farmers can do to put the richness and colour back into the countryside. For example by providing a home to a range rare and threatened invertebrate species. Many of these declining species are often very fussy and need a particular type of habitat in order to survive. As a result Buglife has created a series of species management sheets starting with nine invertebrate species that are conservation priorities, are listed on the UK’s Biodiversity Action Plan, and live on farmland. These include species such as the rare Large garden bumblebee (Bombus ruderatus) and the iridescent Blue ground beetle (Carabus intricatus). These nine species all rely on healthy farmland habitats and the management sheets detail the specific requirements of each species.

These sheets were funded by DEFRA and written with assistance from a range

Hornet robberfly (Asilus crabroniformis) © Darren Bradley

of experts and specialist organisations. The sheets are for use by both farmers and other landowners when managing land and applying for Environmental Stewardship. They are also to assist farm advisors from organisations such as Natural England, Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, Campaign for the Farmed Environment, National Farmers Union, Country Land and Business Association etc., when developing Higher Level Stewardship applications.

Each sheet details information about the ecology of the species, where it occurs in the UK and reasons for its decline.The sheets also outline management practices for each species together with information on the relevant Environmental Stewardship options for Entry Level Stewardship and Higher Level Stewardship.

Click on the species names below for the relevant species sheets:

Shining ram’s-horn snail (Segmentina nitida)

Blue ground beetle (Carabus intricatus)

Brown-banded (Bombus humilis) and Shrill carder bees (Bombus sylvarum)

Large garden bumblebees (Bombus ruderatus)

Small grey sedge (Glossosoma intermedium)

Heath tiger beetle (Cicindela sylvatica)

Necklace ground beetle (Carabus monilis)

Hornet robberfly (Asilus crabroniformis)

If you would like us to send you any hard copies of the sheets please contact us on info@buglife.org.uk or 01773 201210.

Habitat Leaflets

Buglife has also produced a set of habitat leaflets offering advice to farmers and landowners on management techniques that will benefit the invertebrates on their land and improve the health of the countryside. Each leaflet outlines some simple measures that will help to encourage invertebrates on farmland habitats. They also contain detailed information on the Environmental Stewardship options that will benefit invertebrates.

Featuring superb colour illustrations and practical tips, there are four titles in the ‘Managing Farmland Habitats for Invertebrates’ series, covering four types of habitat:

· Grassland
· Ponds and ditches
· Hedgerows and cereal field margins
· Woodland

The leaflets are available from Buglife, telephone 01733 201 210 or email info@buglife.org.uk

Alternatively, you can click on the leaflet name above to download a copy of the leaflet in PDF format. If you do not have this program it can be downloaded from www.adobe.com/acrobat

Supported by DEFRA