Re-seed grasslands

Overall effectiveness category Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)
Number of studies: 2
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

35%
Certainty

19%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Re-seeding grasslands may improve productivity and the growth of young grass, which in turn may increase the number of birds it can support. This intervention is sometimes used to attract geese to specific areas to reduce conflict with farmers, when geese graze their crops. See ‘Provide sacrificial grasslands to reduce the impact of wild geese on crops’ for details.

Re-seeding can be with grass species, or with legumes such as clover Trifolium spp. which may improve the nitrogen content of the forage.

Source countries

Key messages

One of two studies, both from the UK and investigating grazing by geese Branta spp., found that geese grazed at higher densities on grasslands that were re-seeded, compared to control or fertilised areas.
One study found that areas sown with clover were grazed at higher densities than those sown with grass seed.

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

A replicated, controlled trial in 1984-7 on a reserve on the island of Islay, west Scotland (Percival 1993), found that more barnacle geese Branta leucopsis used wet pasture fields if they were reseeded, compared to if they were fertilised or untreated (reseeding increased dropping density by 60-135%; fertilisation by 17-42%, but not in all fields or years). The effect of reseeding declined over time, and as the overall area of rotational grassland on the reserve increased. Reseeding consisted of ploughing fields and sowing with a perennial rye-grass Lolium perenne dominated seed mix in May.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Percival S.M. (1993) The effects of reseeding, fertilizer application and disturbance on the use of grasslands by barnacle geese, and the implications for refuge management. Journal of Applied Ecology, 30, 437-443

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. (2019) Bird Conservation. Pages 141-290 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, N. Ockendon, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2019. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Bird Conservation

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Employ grazing in non-grassland habitats Action Link	Trade-off between benefit and harms	8	Synopsis Link
Plough habitats Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	4	Synopsis Link
Use prescribed burning on Australian sclerophyll forest Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	3	Synopsis Link