Better water management can protect and increase biodiversity on your farm.
Examples include:
- Constructed farm wetlands to manage water quality can attract wildfowl and, in some cases, be stocked with fish increasing sporting opportunities.
- Reducing poaching around watercourses not only reduces erosion risk and protects farmland, but allowing vegetation to grow can provide habitat for insects; food for both birds and aquatic insects/fish
- Buffer strips can protect water quality by intercepting runoff, but also provide habitat and corridors for a number of different species, grasshoppers, buntings, frogs, water voles and otters.
- Reducing soil and bank erosion can reduce sediment deposition in river beds, preserving air spaces in gravels for fish eggs and other invertebrates.
Non-native Invasive Species
It is important to manage invasive plant species which may colonate on riparian areas. Invasive plant species have an ability to grow quickly, out-competing native plants and breeding at a faster rate. It is a legal requirement for landowners to manage such plants to prevent their spread. "The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA) provides the primary controls on the release of non-native species into the wild in Great Britain and it is an offence under the act to ‘plant’ or ‘otherwise cause to grow in the wild’ a number of non-native plant species". Find out on the Scottish Farm Advisory Service webpage dedicated to Invasive Species.