Nature friendly farming works is the conclusion of a new report into its impact on wildlife numbers.
In early June Yorkshire Wildlife Trust published the first-ever State of Yorkshire’s Nature report, which gave an accurate insight into how the whole of Yorkshire’s nature is faring – and, crucially, where action is now needed to create healthier, resilient and more abundant landscapes and how nature friendly farming works in this context.
Yorkshire is not immune to the UK-wide nature crisis, where 1 in 6 of our species are now assessed as being at risk. The report concluded that the declines here are similar to those that are happening across the UK, but for the first time identifies which species in Yorkshire are declines and which are increasing, where and – crucially – why.
Better news two months later as the Yorkshire Post (10 August) reported that measures introduced by the last government to encourage sustainable farming have brought about a marked improvement in bee, butterfly and bat numbers. It also reports that birds were among the chief beneficiaries of the strategy, particularly ones that largely feed on invertebrates. An average of 25% more breeding birds were found in areas with more eco-friendly schemes see.
Surveyed squares with high levels of eco-friendly schemes in the surrounding landscape had on average 117 more butterflies (a 53% increase), compared with the average for squares with low scores for schemes in the surrounding landscape. There was an average of 12 more moth species in areas with more eco-friendly schemes. Smaller, less mobile insects were boosted in smaller, more local areas signed up to the schemes. Numbers of barbastelle and Daubenton’s bats were also found to respond positively to eco-friendly schemes at the landscape level.
A shift away from eating meat will be required if agriculture in England is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as more land will need to be used to store nature and carbon, the study by Natural England, the government advisory body, also warned.
More on this story from The Guardian here.