Biodiversity On Your Farm
As modern agriculture has a large focus on production, biodiversity has seen a decline over the years as farmers have utilised much of their land. This decline in biodiversity has now been identified as an environmental emergency with a focus now on enhancing the biodiversity on farmland.
As a result farmers and land managers are under increasing pressure to deliver more from the land they manage. You must balance food production with multiple other goals, from nutrient and carbon budgeting to protecting watercourses from diffuse pollution, all at the same time as conserving farmland wildlife.
Small Measures With Significant Impact
As modern agriculture has a large focus on production, biodiversity has seen a decline over the years as farmers have utilised much of their land. This decline in biodiversity has now been identified as an environmental emergency with a focus now on enhancing the biodiversity on farmland.
As a result farmers and land managers are under increasing pressure to deliver more from the land they manage. You must balance food production with multiple other goals, from nutrient and carbon budgeting to protecting watercourses from diffuse pollution, all at the same time as conserving farmland wildlife.
Supporting Birds And Insects
Many environmentally friendly management practices are targeted to enhance farmland for birds and beneficial insects. Farmland birds not only bring our countryside alive with colour and song but also disperse seeds and can help keep pest species at bay. Being highly visual, birds can be an important indicator of farmland health.
We have a series of practical guides and technical notes on biodiversity, all of which can be found here:
Practical Guides | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)
Technical Notes | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)
Increasing Wild Pollinators
The loss of traditionally managed flower-rich habitats, such as hay meadows, species-rich grasslands, and hedgerows, is a primary driver of wild pollinator declines. Scotland's farming systems shape our countryside and have great potential to help provide resources for economically important pollinators. To help increase important resources for pollinators on farmland:
- Provide a variety of flowering plants to ensure a continuous supply of pollen and nectar throughout the pollinator activity period: typically March to September in Scotland.
- Leave areas of rough, tussocky grass to provide bumblebee nesting sites and overwintering sites for a range of species.
- Create South or South-east facing banks of bare ground to provide nesting opportunities for ground-nesting mining bees.
- Provide nesting opportunities for cavity-nesting bees for example drystone dykes, woodland edges and old plant stems.
- Provide decaying matter (e.g. rotting wood, dung, and stagnant water) as habitat for hoverfly larvae that feed on decaying organic matter.
- Adopt an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) regime to better target the application of agro-chemicals.
Further Resources
Monitoring Pollinators On Your Farm | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)
Promoting Farmland Birds
Changes to traditional farming practices, increased use of agro-chemicals and loss of semi-natural habitats has contributed to a loss of nesting and feeding sites.
Small changes in farming practices and agri-environmental management can, however, benefit a wide range of farmland birds and help to reverse declines. Farmland birds need:
- Access to invertebrate-rich habitats to feed their chicks during the breeding season.
- Seeds and berries to sustain populations throughout the winter.
- Safe places to nest and rear chicks.
Further resources:
How to provide for wading birds | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)
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