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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119 Actions found
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Order results by:
Action | Effectiveness | Studies | Category | |
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Restore or create wood pasture Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 2 |
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Restore/create species-rich, semi-natural grassland Action Link |
Beneficial | 71 |
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Use scaring devices (eg. gas guns) and other deterrents to reduce persecution of native species Action Link |
Evidence not assessed | 1 |
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Use organic rather than mineral fertilizers Action Link |
Beneficial | 19 |
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Leave unharvested cereal headlands in arable fields Action Link |
No evidence found (no assessment) | 0 |
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Manage ditches to benefit wildlife Action Link |
Likely to be beneficial | 11 |
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Maintain upland heath/moorland Action Link |
Likely to be beneficial | 17 |
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Undersow spring cereals, with clover for example Action Link |
Likely to be beneficial | 18 |
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Provide supplementary food for birds or mammals Action Link |
Likely to be beneficial | 25 |
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Plant crops in spring rather than autumn Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 9 |
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Maintain wood pasture and parkland Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 1 |
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Raise mowing height on grasslands to benefit farmland wildlife Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 7 |
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Restore or create upland heath/moorland Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 2 |
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Reduce fertilizer, pesticide or herbicide use generally Action Link |
Beneficial | 47 |
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Create beetle banks Action Link |
Likely to be beneficial | 24 |
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Manage woodland edges to benefit widlife Action Link |
No evidence found (no assessment) | 0 |
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Leave headlands in fields unsprayed (conservation headlands) Action Link |
Beneficial | 57 |
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Support or maintain low intensity agricultural systems Action Link |
No evidence found (no assessment) | 0 |
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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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Make direct payments per clutch for farmland birds Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 3 |
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Provide refuges during harvest or mowing Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 3 |
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Mark bird nests during harvest or mowing Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 1 |
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Plant cereals for whole crop silage Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 3 |
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Exclude livestock from semi-natural habitat (including woodland) Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 8 |
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Manage heather by swiping to simulate burning Action Link |
Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 1 |
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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.