Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Re-route paths to reduce habitat disturbance One before-and-after trial in Australia found that closing paths did not alter shrub cover, but did increase the number of plant species in an alpine shrubland. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1619https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1619Sun, 22 Oct 2017 10:35:44 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Cut trees and remove leaf litter One before-and-after trial in the Netherlands found that cutting trees and removing the litter layer increased the cover of two heather species and of three grass species. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1631https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1631Sun, 22 Oct 2017 11:46:14 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Cut trees and remove tree seedlings A controlled, before-and-after study in South Africa found that cutting orange wattle trees and removing seedlings of the same species increased plant diversity and shrub cover. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1632https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1632Sun, 22 Oct 2017 11:51:22 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Use grazing to control trees One randomized, controlled, before-and-after study in Italy found that grazing to reduce tree cover reduced cover of common heather and the basal area of trees, but did not alter cover of purple moor grass. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1634https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1634Sun, 22 Oct 2017 11:59:55 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Rake to control grass A randomized, replicated, controlled, paired study in the USA found that cover of both invasive and native grasses, as well as forbs was lower in areas that were raked than in areas that were not raked, but that the number of annual plants species did not differ. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1640https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1640Sun, 22 Oct 2017 13:13:04 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Cut/mow and rotovate to control grass One controlled study in the UK found that mowing followed by rotovating increased the number of heathland plant species in one of two sites. The same study found that the presence of a minority of heathland and non-heathland species increased. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1641https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1641Sun, 22 Oct 2017 13:14:28 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Apply herbicide and remove plants to control grass One randomized, replicated, controlled, paired study in the USA found that areas sprayed with herbicide and weeded to control non-native grass cover had higher cover of native grasses and forbs than areas that were not sprayed or weeded, but not a higher number of native plant species. The same study found that spraying with herbicide and weeding reduced non-native grass cover. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1645https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1645Sun, 22 Oct 2017 13:33:12 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Rotovate to control grass One replicated, controlled study in the UK found that rotovating did not alter the presence of heather compared to mowing or cutting. The same study found that wavy hair grass presence was not altered by rotovating, relative to areas that were mown or cut. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1648https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1648Sun, 22 Oct 2017 13:42:22 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Add mulch to control grass One randomized, controlled study in the USA found that areas where mulch was used to control grass cover had a similar number of shrub seedlings to areas where mulch was not applied. The same study found that mulch application did not reduce grass cover. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1649https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1649Sun, 22 Oct 2017 13:43:52 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Add mulch to control grass and sow seed One randomized, controlled study in the USA found that adding mulch, followed by seeding with shrub seeds, increased the seedling abundance of one of seven shrub species but did not reduce grass cover. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1650https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1650Sun, 22 Oct 2017 13:46:49 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Cut/mow, rotovate and sow seeds to control grass One controlled study in the UK found that mowing followed by rotovating, and spreading clippings of heathland plants increased the number of heathland species. The same study found an increase in abundance of a minority of heathland and non-heathland species. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1651https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1651Sun, 22 Oct 2017 13:49:39 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Cut bracken and rotovate One controlled study in the UK found that cutting followed by rotovating to control bracken did not increase total plant biomass or biomass of heather. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1656https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1656Sun, 22 Oct 2017 14:50:23 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Use herbicide and remove leaf litter to control bracken One randomized, controlled study in the UK found that using herbicide and removing leaf litter did not increase total plant biomass after eight years. The same study found that for three of six years, heather biomass was higher in areas where herbicide was sprayed and leaf litter was removed than in areas that were sprayed with herbicide. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1660https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1660Sun, 22 Oct 2017 14:59:23 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Use fences to exclude large herbivores One controlled study in the USA found that using fences to exclude deer increased the height of shrubs, but not shrub cover. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1662https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1662Sun, 22 Oct 2017 15:03:54 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Remove leaf litter One randomized, controlled study in the UK found that removing leaf litter did not alter the presence of heather. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1688https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1688Mon, 23 Oct 2017 10:00:36 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Add sulphur to soil One randomized, replicated, controlled study in the UK found that adding sulphur to the soil of a former agricultural field did not increase the number of heather seedlings in five of six cases. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1691https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1691Mon, 23 Oct 2017 10:40:15 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Add mulch and fertilizer to soil One randomized, controlled study in the USA found that adding mulch and fertilizer did not increase the seedling abundance of seven shrub species. The same study also reported no change in grass cover. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1694https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1694Mon, 23 Oct 2017 10:48:55 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Add manure to soil One replicated, randomized, controlled study in South Africa found that adding manure to the soil increased plant cover and the number of plant species. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1695https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1695Mon, 23 Oct 2017 10:50:48 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Irrigate degraded shrublands One replicated, randomized, controlled study at two sites in USA found that temporary irrigation increased shrub cover. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1696https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1696Mon, 23 Oct 2017 10:52:55 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Sow seeds and plant individual plants One replicated, controlled study in the USA found that planting California sagebrush and sowing of seeds did not increase cover of native plant species compared to sowing of seeds, or planting alone. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1700https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1700Mon, 23 Oct 2017 11:14:02 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Build bird perches to encourage colonisation by plants One replicated, controlled study in South Africa found that building artificial bird perches increased the number of seeds at two sites, but no shrubs became established at either of these sites. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1702https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1702Mon, 23 Oct 2017 11:24:30 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Add mulch and fertilizer to soil (alongside planting/seeding) A randomized, controlled study in the USA found that adding mulch and fertilizer, followed by sowing of seeds increased the abundance of seedlings for a minority of shrub species. The same study found that adding mulch and fertilizer, followed by sowing seeds had no significant effect on grass cover. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1707https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1707Mon, 23 Oct 2017 12:01:19 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Add gypsum to soil (alongside planting/seeding) One randomized, controlled study in South Africa found that adding gypsum to soils and sowing seeds increased survival of seedlings for one of two species Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1708https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1708Mon, 23 Oct 2017 12:05:42 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Plant seed balls A randomized, replicated, controlled study in the USA found that planting seed balls resulted in lower seedling numbers than sowing seed. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1712https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1712Mon, 23 Oct 2017 13:30:52 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Plant/seed under established vegetation A replicated, randomized, controlled study in the USA found that sowing seed under established shrubs had mixed effects on blackbrush seedling emergence. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1714https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F1714Mon, 23 Oct 2017 13:53:01 +0100
What Works 2021 cover

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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