Employ grazing in artificial grasslands/pastures

Supporting evidence from individual studies

1. A controlled study in 1980-1982 on the river Roding in Essex, England (Raven 1986), found that flood pasture alongside a 1.2 km stretch of the river with grazed ‘flood beams’ (see ‘Use environmentally sensitive flood management’) held a similar density of territories to an adjacent 1.8 km stretch which was not grazed (8-13 territories/km for grazed stretch vs. 6-21 territories/km for ungrazed). Riparian species (sedge warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus, Eurasian reed warbler A. scirpaceus and reed bunting Emberiza schoeniclus) were largely confined to the ungrazed section, whilst channel-nesting species (little grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis and common moorhen Gallinula chloropus) were at similar densities in both stretches.

   Study and other actions tested

   Referenced paper

   Raven P. (1986) Changes in the breeding bird population of a small clay river following flood alleviation works. Bird Study, 33, 24-35.

2. A series of replicated controlled trials on grassland sites at two reserves in Essex, England, between 1990 and 1992 (Vickery et al. 1994) found that brent geese Branta bernicla did not graze at higher densities on plots that were areas grazed, compared to cut and grazed areas, or areas that were just cut. Goose grazing intensity was not affected by sheep grazing compared to cattle grazing. Six replicates of each treatment were used.

   Study and other actions tested

   Referenced paper

   Vickery J.A., Sutherland W.J. & Lane S.J. (1994) The management of grass pastures for brent geese. Journal of Applied Ecology, 31, 283-290.

3. A small before-and-after study from May-July in 1992-1994 in river islands in Quebec, Canada (Lapointe et al. 2000), found that the number of dabbling ducks Anas spp. nesting in the area had increased from 143 to 263 nests following the establishment of rotational grazing and dense nesting cover (see ‘Plant wild bird seed or cover mixture’). However, fewer nests than expected by an even distribution across habitats were found in unimproved or improved pasture in 1993. More nests than expected were found in unimproved and fewer than expected in improved pasture in 1994. Nests on improved pasture had significantly lower success than those in other habitats (15% success of 39 nests vs. 47-82% elsewhere), with 33% being trampled. Nests on unimproved pasture had similar success rates (68% of 71 nests) to other habitats. Nesting densities were no higher on grazed pastures areas than other habitat types, and were lower than on areas seeded with dense nesting cover see (‘Plant wild bird seed or cover mixture’).

   Study and other actions tested

   Referenced paper

   Lapointe S., Giroux J.F.O. & Belanger L. (2000) Benefits of rotational grazing and dense nesting cover for island-nesting waterfowl in southern Quebec. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 78, 261-272.

4. A replicated controlled study in Washington County, Pennsylvania, USA, found that cattle-grazed stream-side riparian pasture had lower bird species richness and abundance than ungrazed areas (Popotnik & Giuliano 2000). Birds, nests and vegetation were surveyed along 12 pairs (grazed and control) of streams in 1996 and ten pairs in 1997. Several wetland-riparian species (e.g. common snipe Gallinago gallinago, green-backed heron Butorides striatus and solitary sandpiper Tringa solitaria) were more frequent or only occurred in controls. The authors suggest differences are largely due to simplified vegetation structure and reduced cover. Nest densities were higher in controls and nest destruction by cattle occurred in grazed areas, although nest success (all species combined) was not affected by grazing.

   Study and other actions tested

   Referenced paper

   Popotnik G.J. & Giuliano W.M. (2000) Response of birds to grazing of riparian zones. Journal of Wildlife Management, 64, 976-982.

5. A controlled before-and-after trial in 1981-1986 in Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge, Colorado, USA (Stanley & Knopf 2002), found few differences in overall bird density changes between two lightly grazed and two ungrazed pastures. However, for three of the nine species studied in detail, and for all three guilds examined, there were differences between treatments. Red-winged blackbirds Agelaius phoeniceus and American robins Turdus migratorius increased more on grazed pastures, as did species able to tolerate a moderate range of environmental conditions. However, willow flycatchers Empidonax traillii and species able to tolerate either a wide range of conditions or a very narrow range may have increased more on ungrazed pastures. The authors note that evidence for changes in most species was weak. The grazed pastures were grazed in August and September (with 2.4-3.5 animal-unit-months/ha) and then rested for 34 month.

   Study and other actions tested

   Referenced paper

   Stanley T.R. & Knopf F.L. (2002) Avian responses to late-season grazing in a shrub-willow floodplain. Conservation Biology, 16, 225-231.

6. A before-and-after study at South Stack RSPB Reserve, Anglesey, Wales (Ausden & Bateson 2005), found that red-billed chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax use of 26 ha of semi-improved grassland increased following the introduction of year-round cattle grazing in spring 2002. In winter and spring, cattle density was typically less than 1/ha, rising to 2.5/ha during summer. Monitoring undertaken from November 2001 to August 2003, revealed that grazing also greatly reduced sward height.

   Study and other actions tested

   Referenced paper

   Ausden M. & Bateson D. (2005) Winter cattle grazing to create foraging habitat for choughs Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax at South Stack RSPB Reserve, Anglesey, Wales. Conservation Evidence, 2, 26-27.

7. A replicated, controlled, paired sites study of wet pasture in Leicestershire, UK (Defra 2007), found that bird visit rates were significantly higher in areas with livestock than in those where livestock had been excluded.  Sampling involved 45 minute bird observations between April 2005-March 2007 (twice/month April-October; once/month November-March).

   Study and other actions tested

   Referenced paper

   Defra (2007) Wetting up farmland for birds and other biodiversity. Defra BD1323 report. Defra, BD1323.

8. A randomised, replicated controlled study in upland fields sown with a grass-legume mix at Los Banos Wildlife Area, California, USA (Carroll et al. 2007), found that dabbling ducks Anas spp. nested at higher densities in four grazed plots than four ungrazed plots in 1996 (2.2 nests/ha vs. 0.6/ha) but not 1997 (0.7/ha vs. ungrazed 0.4/ha). Nest success estimates did not significantly differ between grazed (5%) and ungrazed (3%) fields. In 1994, four 10-14 ha upland fields were seeded with a grass-legume mix. In 1995, each was divided in half by electric fencing and randomly assigned to rotational grazing (1 July-1 November) or ungrazed. Grazed fields had shorter vegetation than ungrazed fields through the winter, but by the start of the nesting season (late March) vegetation height did not differ. By the end of the nesting season (late May) grazed fields had taller vegetation.

   Study and other actions tested

   Referenced paper

   Carroll L.C., Arnold T.W. & Beam J.A. (2007) Effects of rotational grazing on nesting ducks in California. Journal of Wildlife Management, 71, 902-905.

9. A replicated trial in the UK (Vale & Fraser 2007) found that songbirds and invertebrate-feeding birds were recorded more often on semi-natural rough grazing than on upland improved pasture, but the opposite was true for corvids. This study is discussed in detail in ‘Graze non-grassland habitats’.

   Study and other actions tested

   Referenced paper

   Vale J.E. & Fraser M.D. (2007) Effect of sward type and management on diversity of upland birds. Pages 333-336 in: J. Hopkins, A.J. Duncan, D.I. McCracken, S. Peel & J.R.B. Tallowin (eds.) High value grassland: Providing biodiversity, a clean environment and premium products. British Grassland Society Occasional Symposium No.38. British Grassland Society (BGS), Reading.

10. A replicated site comparison study on 1,031 agricultural sites across England in 2004-2008 (Ewald et al. 2010) found that investigated the impact of rough grazing on grey partridge Perdix perdix. However, the study did not distinguish between the impacts of grazing, scrub control and the restoration of various semi-natural habitats. There was a negative relationship between the combined intervention and the ratio of young to old partridges in 2008. This study describes the effects of several other interventions, discussed in the relevant sections.

    Study and other actions tested

    Referenced paper

    Ewald J.A., Aebischer N.J., Richardson S.M., Grice P.V. & Cooke A.I. (2010) The effect of agri-environment schemes on grey partridges at the farm level in England. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 138, 55-63.