Grey Partridge and agri-environment schemes: science, implementation and assessment.

Abstract

Research into the Grey Partridge decline by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) has made a large contribution to the design of agri-environment schemes. We present results from an evaluation of the effects of new agri-environment schemes (ELS, HLS) and earlier ones (ESA, CSS, ASPS) on Grey Partridge numbers, young production and overwinter retention rates on farms managed by members of the GWCT's Partridge Count Scheme (PCS), which has shown an average annual increase of 7% in Grey Partridge abundance from 2001. Agri-environment options found to be linked to higher values of partridge performance measures were conservation headlands, beetle banks and wild bird cover, while grass and scrub management options were linked to lower levels of performance. In a case study of an area in Sussex, where the partridge-friendly options have been installed, young production has more than doubled and breeding abundance has reached levels similar to the 1970s.