© Bill Meek (Licensed under CC BY 4.0). Kindly recommended by UKCEH.
The following is a short summary of the habitat type and how to create/enhance it to a "good" condition. For an informed position, please refer to official up-to-date Government guidance or the UK Government's Condition Assessment Sheet.
If you wish to select this habitat on a habitat selection screen, it can be found under Cropland (see guide).
Grass margins around arable fields, sown with wildflowers and legumes that are of particular value for nectar-feeding insects. One of the benefits of managing margins for flowering plants is that it creates pollen and nectar resources for invertebrates
This habitat is usually sited on the outer 2–12 m margin of the arable field, although when planted as blocks they occasionally extend further into the field centre. If you are looking to create this habitat, it should be around 6m wide.
Key Species: Grasses are likely to include Sweet Vernal Grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum), Smooth Meadow Grass (Poa pratensis), Red Fescue (Festuca rubra), Crested Dog’s-tail (Cynosurus cristatus) and Yellow Oat Grass (Trisetum flavescens). The habitat will also have a high cover of a range of legumes such as Red Clover (Trifolium pratense), Alsike Clover (Trifolium hybridum) and Bird’s-foot (Trefoil Lotus corniculatus).
It must be noted that the arable field must be in a crop rotation that includes an arable crop (for example wheat, barley, maize, oats), even if in certain years the field is in temporary grass, set-aside or fallow.
Assessment Questions:
- Does the margin surround arable fields that are growing crops or in crop rotation?
- Are there lots of wildflowers or legumes?
- Do the wildflowers have particular value for nectar-feeding insects such as flowering to provide pollen and nectar?
- Is the margin managed to provide specific insect benefits?
If YES, then it is likely ‘Arable Field Margins Pollen and Nectar’
How to Create / Enhance to a "Good" condition
It is not possible to enhance this habitat. You may wish to create a new habitat or buy off-site units.
Creation
There are no conditions for this habitat type.
Can be done in strips or blocks. Note that a competent person should demonstrate an appropriate level of knowledge and experience in creating, enhancing and/or managing arable habitats. You may wish to note that advice will be sought from an agricultural land agent.
You should not create this habitat in:
• cool, north facing shaded locations, as most seeds will not germinate
• places with perennial and arable grass weed problems (Source: HM Government)
Useful Resources
If you are interested in enhancing or creating this habitat, you should consider the following (all recommended by CIEEM or HM Government).
Guide 1 - Arable Field Margins
Guide 4 - Arable Field Margins
Please note that this is a simple guide to help identify the habitat. For a definitive description, please refer to UKHab documentation. Joe's Blooms takes no responsibility for the content of external links.