© 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).
Description: Grass margins around arable fields, sown with (often permanent) grass strips with mixtures of tussocky grasses and fine-leaved grasses that are of particular value for ground-nesting birds and overwintering insects. Main examples include Cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata) and Timothy (Phleum pratense).
(Tussocky grasses are clump-forming, with thicker, coarser blades that grow in tufts, giving a more uneven and wild appearance. Fine-leaved grasses, on the other hand, have thinner, softer blades that grow more evenly, creating a smoother and neater look.)
Landscape and Ecological Context: 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.
Indicator species include: Grasses are likely to also 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).
Some sites may have a high cover of sown mixtures of legumes such as Red Clover (Trifolium pratense), Alsike Clover (Trifolium hybridum) and Bird’s-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus).
The arable fields 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:
- Are the margins around arable fields that are in crop rotation?
- Are tussock-forming grasses like Cocksfoot and Timothy predominant in these margins?
- Is the margin being managed specifically for wildlife benefits?
- Are the grasses and vegetation structured in a way that benefits ground-nesting birds and overwintering insects?
- Are there additional plants like legumes that enhance the ecological value of the margin?
If YES the habitat is likely 'Arable Field Margins Tussocky'.
How to Create / Enhance to a "Good" condition
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
Guide 5 - Beetle Banks
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.