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

Abstract

Capsule: Bunting densities decreased in winter wheat stubbles between November/December and January/February, but not in spring barley stubbles. Aims: We investigated bird use and vegetation in relation to Agri-Environment Scheme over-winter stubble type and preceding crop. Methods: We surveyed 15-17 fields each of: standard Agri-Environment Scheme stubble on Entry Level Stewardship farms (EF6); standard Agri-Environment Scheme stubble on Higher Level Stewardship farms (HF6); stubble preceded by low-input cereal (HF15); extended over-winter stubble (EF22) and non-Agri-Environment Scheme stubble in November/December 2011 and January/February 2012. Stubbles were preceded by spring barley or winter wheat crops. Results: Previous cropping and time of year were the main factors influencing bird densities: bunting densities declined in winter wheat stubbles between surveys, but not in spring barley stubbles. Conclusion: The main factor limiting the ability of over-winter stubbles to reverse national population trends of farmland birds is likely to be scale of provision. However, this study suggests that selecting spring barley crops to leave as over-winter stubbles may benefit granivorous farmland birds. © 2014 British Trust for Ornithology.