Birds Farm hedgerows

The purpose of this study was to develop an evaluation and grading system for the main field boundaries in Ireland – hedgerows and dry stone walls. It is shown that there is a lack of scientific information on Irish field boundaries and very little research has been carried out on what are possibly the most prominent countryside landscape features on the island. In the absence of Irish data, values were extrapolated from research in other countries. In addition, verbal consultation was carried out with prominent landscape ecologists, scientists and environmental consultants. This consultation lead to the creation of a draft survey form modeled on an earlier Hedgerow Evaluation and Grading System (HEGS) (Clements and Tofts, 1992) in the UK. The draft Irish survey, described here, is entitled the Field Boundary Evaluation and Grading System or FBEGS for short. The FBEGS was field-tested in four locations in Ireland by a number of users to obtain usefulness and accuracy. Feedback from volunteer surveyors led to an amended FBEGS survey form. This was then tested in ten locations nation-wide. Results are given and a grading system is proposed. It is shown that it may be possible to evaluate a field boundary using a simple grading system but the accuracy of such a survey cannot be confirmed due to the lack of baseline data in an Irish context. However, preliminary trial surveys indicate that values assigned to a particular boundary approximate well to professional opinion. Discussion concludes with some recommendations for continued research.

Field boundaries are important habitats for birds within the agricultural landscape. In this study, bird surveys were carried out during the winter and breeding season on nine farms in the east and south-east of Ireland and field boundaries at each site were assessed using the Field Boundary Evaluation and Grading System (FBEGS). Poisson regression demonstrated that FBEGS scores were a good predictor of both winter and breeding bird species richness and diversity within the field boundaries studied. We interpret these preliminary results with caution since our sample size was relatively small (compared to the wide variety of field boundary types found in Ireland) and no single combination of field boundary attributes is likely to be optimum for all bird species. However, our results suggest that FBEGS may be a useful surrogate indicator of overall field boundary bird diversity and we discuss the consequent implications for agri-environmental policy, and for the possible adaptation a...

Field boundaries are important habitats for birds within the agricultural landscape. In this study, bird sur- veys were carried out during the winter and breeding season on nine farms in the east and south-east of Ireland and field boundaries at each site were assessed using the Field Boundary Evaluation and Grading System (FBEGS). Poisson regression demonstrated that FBEGS scores were a good predictor of both win- ter and breeding bird species richness and diversity within the field boundaries studied. We interpret these preliminary results with caution since our sample size was relatively small (compared to the wide variety of field boundary types found in Ireland) and no single combination of field boundary attributes is likely to be optimum for all bird species. However, our results suggest that FBEGS may be a useful surrogate indicator of overall field boundary bird diversity and we discuss the consequent implications for agri-envi- ronmental policy, and for the possible adaptation and use of FBEGS as a tool to monitor the impact of changing farm management practice.