Grass conservation headlands - adapting an arable technique for the grassland farmer.

Abstract

The ecology of arable field margins, and the use of margin management prescriptions such as arable conservation headlands to benefit farm wildlife, have been well-studied, but there has been little corresponding research within the grassland situation. This paper describes a study which aims to develop a series of management guidelines for the headlands of grass fields, to increase the abundance and diversity of plant and insect groups that support gamebirds and other wildlife. Preliminary results of a small-plot experiment investigating the effects of different cutting regimes on carabid assemblages within a silage field are described. The greatest differences in carabid species composition were associated with different distances from the field boundary but, after one year of management, some differences between different cutting regimes were also observed.