can environmentally-friendly farming also be productive? · agri-environment schemes •...
TRANSCRIPT
Can environmentally-friendly farming also
be productive?
James Bullock
NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
Agri-environment schemes
• Implemented in the EU through the CAP (but also
elsewhere in the World)
• Targeted primarily at wildlife, but also other
environmental benefits – reducing pollution, storing
carbon, increasing soil health, etc
• Budget in the EU ca €2.5bn per year
• Payments compensate farmers for “profit foregone”
Agri-environment schemes do work
Arable plant survey (20-km)
Bumblebee survey (10-km)
Bird - assemblage studies#
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Kilometers
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Control General Evidence
Control General Evidence Controlvs.
General
Evidencevs.
General
Evidencevs.
Control
a) Plants
b) Bumblebees c) Birds
Common species
Rare species
-1.0
0.0
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No
. co
mm
on
sp
eci
es N
o. rare
spe
cies
No
. co
mm
on
sp
eci
es N
o. rare
spe
cies
He
dge
s’ d
• Although they need to be well designed
But are AES simply a cost to productive farming?
• Encouraging wild bees as crop pollinators?
y = -1.8621x + 558.56R² = 0.202
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
0 50 100 150 200 250
Po
llin
ato
r d
en
sity
(in
di.
ha
-1)
Distance from field boundary (m)
Wild_bees
Worldwide – wild pollinators enhance crop fruit set
• Wild insects more important for crops than honeybees
Ch
ange
in f
ruit
set
co
mp
ared
to
no
inse
ct p
olli
nat
ors
But are AES simply a cost to productive farming?
• Encouraging natural pest control?
Nu
mb
er
of
adu
lt a
ph
ids
Might AES enhance crop yields?
• Studies of blueberries in the US & of mangoes in S.
Africa show wildflower patches increase pollination and
fruit yield
The Hillesden Project
• Quantify effects of agri-environmental measures on
biodiversity, beneficial species & crop yield
• 1000ha commercial arable farm
• Three treatments applied to 50-60ha patches:
- Cross Compliance (0% land removed)
- Typical Entry Level AES (1% land removed for
two wildlife habitats)
- Entry Level Extra AES (6% land removed for six
habitats)
• Habitat location in awkward/low yielding margins
/corners
Block 1
Block 2
Block 3
Block 4
Block 5
Design
Hillesden: monitoring
• 10 years of monitoring
• Crop yield & inputs
• Beneficial species associated with
crop production (pollinators, pest
control)
• Declining farmland species (e.g.
birds, butterflies)
0.90
0.95
1.00
1.05
1.10
1.15
Cross Compliance
ELS ELS Extra
Yie
ld a
s R
atio
of R
egi
on
al a
vera
ge
Cropped area
0.90
0.95
1.00
1.05
Cross Compliance
ELS ELS Extra
Yie
ld a
s R
atio
of R
egi
on
al a
vera
ge
Whole field
a) Cropped area
b) Whole field
Effects on yield (6yrs): all crops (wheat, OSR, beans)
0.40
0.50
0.60
0.70
0.80
0.90
1.00
1.10
Cross Compliance
ELS ELS Extra
Yie
ld d
efi
cit
as r
atio
of n
atio
nal
av
era
ge
Beans - cropped areaEffects on yield: Beans a) Cropped area
0.40
0.50
0.60
0.70
0.80
0.90
1.00
Cross Compliance
ELS ELS Extra
Yie
ld d
efi
cit
as r
atio
of n
atio
nal
av
era
ge
Beans - whole field
b) Whole field
a) Cropped area
b) Whole field
Effects on yield: Wheat
0.8
0.9
1
1.1
1.2
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Yie
ld d
efi
cit
as r
atio
of
Re
gio
nal
/Nat
ion
al a
vera
ge
Whole fieldCross Compliance
ELS
ELS Extra
Yield trend with time
0.8
0.9
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Yie
ld a
s R
atio
of R
egi
on
al/N
atio
nal
av
era
ge
Cropped areaCross Compliance
ELS
ELS Extra
a) Cropped area
b) Whole field
Using AES more broadly for sustainable farming?
BLOCK2
11a
10
9
7
6
5
4
3a
3
2
1
11b
11c
13
14
A41 Grass
Corral
CranwellSpeeds
GreatSpeeds
CowHouse
Browns
0 130 26065 Meters
Waddesdon Estate Expermintal LayoutENHANCEMENTS
Treatments
Control
Enhanced
Enhanced Options
OptDesc
Ditch
EF2/HF2 Bird
EF22
EF4/HF4
EJ9
EK2/3
Early Annuals
Fences
HF1/HK8
HF10 Sandwich
HF10 Shop Window
HF10 Wildflower
Hedge
Leave Existing
Other
PC
Racehorse Paddock
BLOCK 2Disc
FeedSlot Wildflower
strips for crop
pollinators &
pest control
Legumes into
grassland/
arable
reversion for
carbon capture
and decreased
flooding/erosion
Cover crop,
buffer strips &
sediment ponds
for water quality
Wildflowers,
rare plants,
birds for
cultural value
• Sustainable Intensification Research Platform
• A multi-partner research project funded by Defra to investigate approaches to more sustainable farming.
• 3 projects:
• SIP 1 Integrated Farm Management for improved economic, environmental and social performance
• SIP 2 Opportunities and risks for farming and the environment at a landscape scale
• SIP 3 A scoping study on the influence of external drivers and actors on the sustainability and productivity of English and Welsh farming
• Platform aims to develop more integrated and collaborative ways of funding, conducting and applying agricultural research around sustainable intensification.
Farmers have a very important role
• Farmers with longer and more intense experience in
AES produce better quality margins
• And so they have more birds, bees & butterflies
Improving agri-environment
schemes
The FarmCat project