Biodiversity
Agricultural
subsidies in Europe are changing from production subsidy to land
management subsidy, linked to measures to increase biodiversity
and reverse the intensification trend of recent decades. Research
into the linkage between crop production and wildlife is a growing
area for Harper Adams with a particular emphasis on farmland birds
and their food sources.
Lapwing breeding success
Lapwing chick
survival is often poor in arable farmland. A recent project has
studied factors influencing chick
survival on land entered into the Arable Stewardship Scheme.
Contact: Dr Keith Chaney - Head of the Crop and Environment Sciences Department, Principal Lecturer
Song thrush foraging
Breeding numbers
of song thrushes have declined drastically over the last two decades.
A joint project with the Game Conservancy is studying feeding behaviour
to understand how survival can be improved.
Contact: Dr Andrew Wilcox - Principal Lecturer and Associate Head of Department
Cultivations and Agroecology
Cultivation systems in UK cereal production are changing from traditional ploughing
to minimal tillage. The SOWAP project is a major EU-LIFE funded
project that is underway to investigate and demonstrate how different cultivation systems influence bird numbers and invertebrate and seed food resources.
Contact: Dr Keith Chaney - Head of the Crop and Environment Sciences Department, Principal Lecturer
Whole crop silage and farmland bird ecology
The use of wholecrop
wheat for silage has expanded rapidly in recent years. A new DEFRA-funded
project aims to study whole crop silages as a potential conservation
mechanism for farmland birds.
Contact: Dr Keith Chaney - Head of the Crop and Environment Sciences Department, Principal Lecturer
