Habitat loss is a major driver of widespread and ongoing declines in biodiversity on UK farmland.
To help address this issue, WildCRU’s Ruth Feber led a landscape-scale study on the value of trees and hedgerows for promoting farmland biodiversity. Conducted in collaboration with national charity Butterfly Conservation and funded by The Woodland Trust, the researchers used butterflies as a model group. Their analysis of national-scale data showed that having more hedgerows and trees in the landscape increased numbers of wider countryside butterflies. The authors recommend that protection and restoration of these habitat features and better delivery of support for farmers should be at the forefront of farm-scale and landscape-scale policy initiatives.
The paper received wide coverage by local, national and international news outlets – including the BBC and The Economist. The work was also cited in the Canal and River Trust’s report on habitat connectivity.
