The effect of landscape structure and habitat quality on the occurrence of Geranium sylvaticum in fragmented hay meadows
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Published source details
Pacha M.J. & Petit S. (2008) The effect of landscape structure and habitat quality on the occurrence of Geranium sylvaticum in fragmented hay meadows. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 123, 81-87.
Published source details Pacha M.J. & Petit S. (2008) The effect of landscape structure and habitat quality on the occurrence of Geranium sylvaticum in fragmented hay meadows. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 123, 81-87.
Actions
This study is summarised as evidence for the following.
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Pay farmers to cover the cost of conservation measures (as in agri-environment schemes) Action Link |
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Pay farmers to cover the cost of conservation measures (as in agri-environment schemes)
A before-and-after replicated trial in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, UK (Pacha & Petit 2008) found that the average number of plant species in upland hay meadows fell from 19.5 species in 1980, before the introduction of agri-environment schemes, to 14.7 species in 2003, when the Countryside Stewardship Scheme and the Environmentally Sensitive Areas scheme had been employed for almost 20 years. One-hundred-and-nineteen fields surveyed in the 1980s and found to contain wood cranesbill Geranium sylvaticum were re-surveyed in 2003. In 47 of the fields, all plant species were recorded in ten 1 m2 quadrats at each site. Wood cranesbill was found in 76 of the 119 fields it had previously been found in, an extinction rate of 40%. The average nearest distance to another field containing the species increased from 121 m in 1980 to 1072 m in 2003. Fields located more than 300 m from another field containing the habitat were more likely to have lost the species.
