When was the last time you walked past an arable field and saw weasel’s snout, corn spurrey, common poppy, sharp leaved flullen or the unmistakable vibrant blue of the cornflower? Maybe you are fortunate to live in an area abundant with arable flora, but for many of us these sightings are rare and becoming rarer.
Image 1: Cornflower in spring barley, an increasingly rare sight in arable farmland. (Cath Jeffs, RSPB)
In a recent publication:(http://www.plantlife.org.uk/publications/england_farmland_report) Plantlife confirm that arable flora is becoming “... Britain’s fastest declining suite of plants”. They have identified just 5 sites left in England which are Internationally Important Plant Areas (IPAs), noted for their arable plant assemblage, but how has this colour been allowed to fade from our countryside?
Since the post-war era the policy driver for more food production has changed the farming landscape in the UK. In an arable context, the ambition for greater yields has seen an increase in the use of chemicals to control ‘weeds’ and pests, seed cleaning, a switch from spring-sown to autumn-sown cereals, the increase in commercial varieties of seeds leading to the loss of local varieties (reducing genetic diversity and resilience to disease) and since 2007 there has been a dramatic loss of compulsory set-aside/summer fallow.
Image 2: Weasel's snout among a spring barley crop on RSPB's Labrador Bay reserve. Spring barley is grown in plots on the reserve and provides idea conditions for the germination of arable flora. (Cath Jeffs, RSPB)
Many of the 150 wild flowers associated with Britain’s arable fields are annuals requiring regular cultivation to allow them to germinate and set seed. Some germinate in spring others in autumn, whilst the soil type, topography and aspect all have an influence on their location. In order for these plants to thrive they need little competition from the crop and little to nil application of herbicides. This sounds simple enough, so how can we put this colour back into our arable fields?
One example where targeted conservation management advice for one threatened species has been beneficial for arable plants is the Cirl Bunting Species Recovery Project. Cirl buntings are a rare farmland bird found in south Devon and more recently south Cornwall. Over the past 25 years, the RSPB has worked alongside farmers across the Cirl bunting range to encourage the retention of spring sown barley in their mixed farming systems, and most importantly ensuring stubbles are left over-winter to provide vital bird food throughout the winter months. Cirl buntings will forage on the ground for small, oil-rich arable plant seeds such as chickweed and fat hen.
Image 3: The seeds of arable flora which remain among the stubbles provide an important source of winter food for Cirl bunting (Andy Hay: rspb-images)
These spring-sown cereals have also provided the ideal conditions for spring germinating arable plants to thrive as they are managed as a low input cereal creating little competition from the crop. Uncropped, cultivated margins, wild bird seed mixtures, conservation headlands (areas of cereal left unsprayed) and summer fallow are also important arable management options which support many arable plant species. These management options are just a few of the arable options that have been available to farmers through England’s Agri-Environment (AE) schemes since 1991 to retain and enhance farmland biodiversity. Many of our cirl bunting farmers manage their land sympathetically with the support of these schemes, in return they have saved the Cirl bunting from the brink of extinction, and as a consequence of this management for Cirls, have helped stem the severe loss of arable flora from the south Devon countryside.
Image 4: Poppies with intensive arable in background (Cath Jeffs, RSPB)
Natural England estimate there is currently around 1,000ha of arable crops managed for Cirl bunting through Higher Level Stewardship. In most of the AE spring barley fields in south Devon you expect to see a selection of the commoner arable plant species such as field madder, field pansy, scarlet pimpernel, chickweed, Shepherd’s purse, plus rarer species such as corn spurrey, weasel’s snout, corn marigold and field woundwort. However, the broad-fruited cornsalad, a predominately arable species in the UK, is only regularly found on 8 arable fields and a few cliff and quarry sites. Two of the arable sites are in south Devon and one was discovered during a cirl bunting site visit. As a result, management was put in place to safeguard the species and it continues to flourish alongside Cirls.
Last year the Cirl bunting project worked with botanists from the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland (BSBI) to trial a simple arable plant survey across a small number of Cirl bunting farms in south Devon. The surveys were undertaken on the spring barley stubble fields and wild bird seed mixtures. Of the 12 farms visited, 25% were deemed to be of ‘County importance’ for arable plants, and 16% of ‘National importance’ using Plantlife’s criteria for identifying important arable plant sites.
(http://www.plantlife.org.uk/publications/front_cover_of_important_arable_plant_areas_important_arable_plant_are.). Many of the farmers were unaware of the variety of arable plants in their fields and were pleased to discover how important their management is for conserving arable flora. We are hoping to undertake more arable plant surveys this year on a greater number of farms working with BSBI.
Image 5: Poppies (Deborah Deveney, RSPB)
Opportunities exist in the new Countryside Stewardship scheme, which starts in January 2016, to support arable plants through arable options available in both Mid and Higher Tier agreements. The RSPB will continue to work closely with partners such as Plantlife and BSBI to ensure that low-input arable remains visible in our farmed landscape – to secure the long term future for farmland birds, mammals such as brown hare and rare arable plants that depend on these arable habitats for survival; ensuring the countryside remains full of colour and wildlife.
By Deborah Deveney (Cirl bunting project officer)
24/4/2015
For more information:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/whatwedo/projects/details/222509-the-cirl-bunting-project
http://www.plantlife.org.uk/
http://www.bsbi.org.uk/