Mow or cut natural grasslands

Overall effectiveness category Trade-off between benefit and harms
Number of studies: 6
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

40%
Certainty

50%
Harms

39%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Cutting and mowing of grasslands can help maintain grass cover, as grasses can survive cutting, whilst herbs and woody plants may not. Cutting can also encourage grass re-growth and increase productivity. Alternatively, in improved soils, cutting and removing the cut vegetation can reduce the nutrient content of the grassland and allow species that rely on nutrient poor soils to return.

Study locations

Key messages

Of six studies, two replicated and controlled studies from the USA found higher densities of birds or nests on mown grasslands, compared to unmanaged or burned areas. Two controlled studies from the USA, one replicated, found lower nesting or population densities of some species, on mown grasslands compared to unmown areas. Two replicated and controlled studies found no significant differences in nesting densities or community composition between mown and unmown areas.
One study from the USA found that grasshopper sparrow nesting success was higher on mown areas than grazed areas of grassland. A replicated controlled study from the USA found that ducks had similar nesting success on cut and uncut areas.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A replicated and controlled study in between five and eight meadows in the Lower Souris National Wildlife Refuge, North Dakota, USA, in 1961-1962 (Martz 1967), found that duck pair density (mainly blue-winged teal Anas discors and gadwall A. strepera) was 6% lower in three areas mown in August than in five control areas. This difference was not significant and gadwall mostly nested in unmanaged areas beside mowed meadows and blue-winged teal frequently nested in mowed meadows. Nest success did not differ significantly between mowed and unmown meadows. A total of 398 nests were surveyed.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Martz G.F. (1967) Effects of nesting cover removal on breeding puddle ducks. Journal of Wildlife Management, 31, 236-247.
A replicated and controlled study in 1990-1994 in two intensively managed grassland sanctuaries in southeast Illinois, USA (Herkert et al. 1999), found that short-eared owls Asio flammeus were more likely to nest on fields burned and mowed in the last 12 months than on controls (undisturbed for 12 months). Northern harriers Circus cyaneus hudsonius were less likely to. Mowing was conducted between 20^th June and 15^th July each year. This study is discussed in detail in ‘Use prescribed burning’.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Herkert J.R., Simpson S.A., Westemeier R.L., Esker T.L. & Walk J.W. (1999) Response of northern harriers and short-eared owls to grassland management in Illinois. Journal of Wildlife Management, 63, 517-523.
A replicated, controlled trial in May-June 1995-1996 in grasslands in Prairie Ridge State Natural Area, Illinois, USA (Walk & Warner 2000), found that native grasslands mown between late July and October held higher average densities of five songbird species than unmanaged native and non-native grasslands and mowed, hayed and burned non-native grasslands. Mowed and hayed non-native grasslands held lower average densities than unmanaged or grazed grasslands but higher densities than burned non-native grasslands. However, species showed individual responses to different managements. The species surveyed were eastern meadowlark Sturnella magna, dickcissel Spiza americana, Henslow’s sparrow Ammodramus henslowii, field sparrow Spizella pusilla and grasshopper sparrow A. savannarum. This study is discussed further in ‘Use prescribed burning’ and ‘Graze grasslands’.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Walk J.W. & Warner R.E. (2000) Grassland management for the conservation of songbirds in the Midwestern USA. Biological Conservation, 94, 165-172.
A replicated, randomised and controlled study in DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, Iowa, USA (van Dyke et al. 2004), found that bird communities were not fundamentally different between areas of tallgrass prairies mown on a 3-4 year rotation and unmanaged or burned prairies (12 species/site for four mowed areas vs. 10 species/site for four burned and 11 species/site for four controls). This study is discussed in detail in ‘Use prescribed burning’.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
van Dyke F., van Kley S.E., Page C.E. & van Beek J.G. (2004) Restoration efforts for plant and bird communities in tallgrass prairies using prescribed burning and mowing. Restoration Ecology, 12, 575-585.
At Blue Grass Army Depot, Kentucky, USA (Sutter & Ritchison 2005), a site comparison study in April-August 2002-2003 found that grasshopper sparrow nesting success was significantly higher in a 3,950 ha area mown in July-August compared to a 2,100 ha cattle-grazed area (70% of 34 nests in mown areas fledging at least one young vs. 25% of 12 in grazed; overall survival estimated at 46% vs. 9%). Average clutch size in the mown area (five eggs) was significantly larger than in grazed area (four eggs).
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Sutter B. & Ritchison G. (2005) Effects of grazing on vegetation structure, prey availability, and reproductive success of grasshopper sparrows. Journal of Field Ornithology, 76, 345-351.
A controlled study in 1999-2001 on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, USA (Zuckerberg & Vickery 2006), found that song sparrows Melospiza melodia were significantly less abundant on mown grasslands (between one and three cuts annually), compared to controls (1 bird/10 ha on mown grasslands vs. 6 birds/10 ha on controls). There was no significant difference between mown and burned grasslands. Savannah sparrows Passerculus sandwichensis were equally abundant (7-9 birds/10 ha) on all treatments.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Zuckerberg B. & Vickery P.D. (2006) Effects of mowing and burning on shrubland and grassland birds on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology (formerly The Wilson Bulletin), 118, 353-363.

Please cite as:

Williams, D.R., Child, M.F., Dicks, L.V., Ockendon, N., Pople, R.G., Showler, D.A., Walsh, J.C., zu Ermgassen, E.K.H.J. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Bird Conservation. Pages 137-281 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Bird Conservation

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