New research shows
wildlife-friendly farming can quickly help bird populations bounce back, but
large-scale rollout will be needed to reverse long-term declines
Wed 3 Jan ‘18 06.01 GMT
Planting wildflowers and
protecting nests on farms enables birds, from skylarks to starlings, to bounce
back rapidly from long-term
declines, new research shows.
Intensive agriculture has led to
overall farmland bird numbers in the UK plunging by more than 50% since 1970
and the fall has not stopped yet, with the latest
figures showing a 9% drop
from 2010 to 2015.
The new analysis shows that
subsidy schemes that pay farmers to use about 10% of their land to support
birds and other wildlife can work. But the RSPB experts
behind the new study say such schemes will have to increase hugely in size just
to prevent further falls in numbers.
Environment secretary Michael
Gove said: “These results show that with the right management, and more
targeted support for farmers, we can reverse the
decline in numbers of our birds.”
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