Action

Action Synopsis: Bird Conservation About Actions

Plant new hedges

How is the evidence assessed?
  • Effectiveness
    23%
  • Certainty
    19%
  • Harms
    0%

Key messages

A small study from the USA found that the population of northern bobwhites increased following several interventions including the planting of new hedges.

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

  1. A small 1967 before-and-after study on a 1,214 ha farm in Maryland, USA (Burger & Linduska 1967), found that after the introduction in 1957 of a number of management interventions, including planting 11.4 miles of new hedges, the number of coveys of northern bobwhites Colinus virginianus increased from five coveys identified in the winter of 1956/1957 to 38 in the winter of 1964/1965. Although this study does not isolate the effect of the individual interventions made, it is noted that 14 of 33 new coveys were located in multi-flora hedges planted during the eight years of management interventions. Interventions included planting shrub lespedeza Lespedeza thunbergii and sericea lespedeza Lespedeza cuneata strips, seeding 20 ha of grassland, and limiting livestock grazing. Sightings of coveys were reported by farm employees and hunting parties during each winter from 1956 to 1965.

    Study and other actions tested
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?

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Bird Conservation

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Bird Conservation
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What Works in Conservation

What Works in Conservation provides expert assessments of the effectiveness of actions, based on summarised evidence, in synopses. Subjects covered so far include amphibians, birds, mammals, forests, peatland and control of freshwater invasive species. More are in progress.

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