Actions to conserve biodiversity
We have summarised evidence from the scientific literature about the effects of actions to conserve wildlife and ecosystems.
Review the evidence from the studies
Not sure what Actions are? Read a brief description.
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e.g. "frogs chytrid"
119 Actions found
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Order results by:
Action | Effectiveness | Studies | Category | |
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Raise water levels in ditches or grassland Action Link |
Likely to be beneficial | 13 |
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Control weeds without damaging other plants in conservation areas Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 12 |
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Manage ditches to benefit wildlife Action Link |
Likely to be beneficial | 11 |
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Create skylark plots Action Link |
Beneficial | 11 |
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Control predatory mammals and birds (foxes, crows, stoats and weasels) Action Link |
Likely to be beneficial | 11 |
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Provide nest boxes for birds Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 10 |
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Plant crops in spring rather than autumn Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 9 |
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Exclude livestock from semi-natural habitat (including woodland) Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 8 |
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Plant new hedges Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 8 |
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Convert or revert arable land to permanent grassland Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 8 |
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Maintain traditional water meadows (includes management for breeding and/or wintering waders/waterfowl) Action Link |
Likely to be beneficial | 8 |
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Employ areas of semi-natural habitat for rough grazing (includes salt marsh, lowland heath, bog, fen) Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 8 |
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Use mowing techniques to reduce mortality Action Link |
Beneficial | 8 |
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Provide buffer strips alongside water courses (rivers and streams) Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 7 |
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Raise mowing height on grasslands to benefit farmland wildlife Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 7 |
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Leave uncut strips of rye grass on silage fields Action Link |
Likely to be beneficial | 6 |
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Create scrapes and pools Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 6 |
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Provide 'sacrificial' grasslands to reduce the impact of wild geese on crops Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 6 |
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Plant more than one crop per field (intercropping) Action Link |
Evidence not assessed | 5 |
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Increase the proportion of semi-natural habitat in the farmed landscape Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 5 |
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Provide owl nest boxes (Tawny owl, Barn owl) Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 5 |
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Use traditional breeds of livestock Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 5 |
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Plant cereals in wide-spaced rows Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 5 |
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Connect areas of natural or semi-natural habitat Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 5 |
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Increase crop diversity Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 4 |
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Farmland Conservation - Published 2013
Farmland Synopsis
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What are 'Individual studies' and 'Actions'?
Individual studies
An individual study is a summary of a specific scientific study, usually taken from a scientific journal, but also from other resources such as reports. It tells you the background context, the action(s) taken and their consequences.
If you want more detail please look at the original reference.
Actions
Each action page focuses on a particular action you could take to benefit wildlife or ecosystems.
It contains brief (150-200 word) descriptions of relevant studies (context, action(s) taken and their consequences) and one or more key messages.
Key messages show the extent and main conclusions of the available evidence. Using links within key messages, you can look at the paragraphs describing each study to get more detail. Each paragraph allows you to assess the quality of the evidence and how relevant it is to your situation.
Where we found no evidence, we have been unable to assess whether or not an intervention is effective or has any harmful impacts.