Wintering Cirl BuntingsEmberiza cirlusin southwest England select cereal stubbles that follow a low-input herbicide regime

Influence of crop type and Agri-Environment management on the use of over-winter stubbles by farmland birds in England

“…Bird densities recorded in stubbles were similar to those recorded in previous studies (Hancock & Wilson 2003, Parish & Sotherton 2004, Field et al 2011, but there was no evidence for an effect of AgriEnvironment Scheme stubble type on bird densities in the study region. This is in contrast to what was found by some previous studies (Peach et al 2001, Bradbury et al 2008, Field et al 2011. Surprisingly, no significant differences were found between densities on Agri-Environment Scheme and non-Agri-Environment Scheme over-winter stubbles, despite the AgriEnvironment Scheme options having restrictions on cultivations, and not permitting pre-harvest desiccants or post-harvest herbicides, which have been shown to have a major effect on bird use .…”

“…Previous studies have shown that management (related to Agri-Environment Scheme or set-aside status) or the preceding crop may affect bird use and vegetation characteristics of stubbles (Buckingham et al 1999, Moorcroft et al 2002, Bradbury et al 2008, Field et al 2011. Here, we investigate simultaneously the role of these factors further by testing (1) whether bird use differs between Agri-Environment Scheme stubble types, including the new extended fallow option (EF22), or the preceding crop, and whether certain types of stubbles better retain birds into the critical late winter period when seed food is scarce; (2) whether stubble types differ in vegetation composition or structure and (3) whether any differences in vegetation composition or structure explain observed differences in bird use.…”

“…In addition to the standard stubble option (EF6) for retaining stubble without inputs until 15 February, two additional options are also available: stubble preceded by reduced herbicide cereals (EF15/HF15, Natural England 2013a), and extended stubble, retained until August without pesticides, except to control pernicious grass weeds from mid-May (EF22, Natural England 2013b, see Table 1 for full descriptions of stubble options). These additional stubble options were predominantly designed to provide spring/summer foraging habitats, and nesting habitats for in-field nesters, but may provide additional benefits during the winter (Bradbury et al 2008, Field et al 2011. The standard stubble option is by far the most common, with EF6 (or HF6: the same option but deployed in Higher Level rather than Entry Level Stewardship) being present on 6427 Agri-Environment Scheme agreements (December 2013), extended stubbles (EF22) present on 875 and stubble preceded by reduced herbicide cereals (EF15 or HF15) present on 350 (P. Grice, pers.…”

Effects of agri-environment management for cirl buntings on other biodiversity

“…The results of the present study suggest that the differences in permitted inputs between the AES and control crops are sufficient to make a difference to this group, though they are not for others. This is also the case for the target bird species, as cirl buntings prefer to forage in winter stubbles following AES rather than control spring barley (Bradbury et al 2008). …”

“…Specifically, questions have been raised about the cost and effort involved in AES for single species, and whether habitat improvements aimed at a target species can provide general benefits to farmland biodiversity. However, the AES stubbles created for cirl buntings have already had demonstrable benefits for other granivorous birds, many of which are in decline and, hence, of high conservation concern (Bradbury et al 2008), while plants of conservation interest have been recorded on sites managed for cirl buntings (Lock 1999).…”