The development of Farmland Bird Packages for arable farmers in England.

Abstract

A literature review was undertaken to find the best evidence available to develop a quantified package of Environmental Stewardship options that are beneficial to farmland birds, for presentation to arable farmers and their advisers in England. The evidence suggests that farmland bird populations are likely to be increased if farmland bird measures are adopted on at least 7% of arable farmland. Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) can fund this scale of management in tightly targeted areas that are the most important for range-restricted arable specialists. However, an Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) package was developed from the same evidence through discussion with conservation advisers. The scale of the requirement was reduced to 3-4% of arable farmland by adopting a more prescriptive package of measures that could be delivered right across England's arable and mixed farming landscapes.