An example of a two-tiered agri-environment scheme designed to deliver effectively the ecological requirements of both localised and widespread bird species in England

Published source details Evans A.D. & Green R.E. (2007) An example of a two-tiered agri-environment scheme designed to deliver effectively the ecological requirements of both localised and widespread bird species in England. Journal of Ornithology, 148, S279-S286.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Leave uncropped, cultivated margins or plots, including lapwing and stone curlew plots Action Link
	Leave cultivated, uncropped margins or plots (includes 'lapwing plots') Action Link

Leave uncropped, cultivated margins or plots, including lapwing and stone curlew plots

A before-and-after study of a Countryside Stewardship Scheme in southern England (Evans & Green 2007) found that the population of stone curlews (Eurasian thick-knees) Burhinus oedicnemus increased from 71 breeding pairs in 2000 to 103 in 2005, following the creation of 156 stone curlew plots over the study period. A further 51 were created in 2006 and the UK population of stone curlews increased from 160 pairs in the 1980s to 300 pairs in 2005. Stone curlew plots consisted of 1-2 ha of arable or set-aside land cultivated to create a ‘rough fallow’ in spring. Preferably they should be located close (<1 km) to pasture, pig farms or other food sources and away from edges of fields.
Leave cultivated, uncropped margins or plots (includes 'lapwing plots')

A 2007 review of a Countryside Stewardship Scheme in southern England (Evans & Green 2007) found that the population of Eurasian thick-knees (stone curlew) Burhinus oedicnemus increased from 71 breeding pairs in 2000 to 103 in 2005, following the creation of 156 stone curlew plots over the study period typically located close (<1 km) to pasture, pig farms or other food sources and away from edges of fields. A further 51 plots were created in 2006 under Higher Level Stewardship. The UK stone curlew population increased from 160 pairs in the 1980s to 300 pairs in 2005. Stone curlew plots consisted of 1-2 ha of arable or set aside land cultivated to create a ‘rough fallow’ in spring.