I seek out research, articles, letters pertinent to the rural/environmental sector. For public benefit and with a specific aim to share with land managers undergoing change within a rapidly | changing | countryside.
an eclectic mix, uploaded, adaptively headlined (via B.sky) as and when I afford the time.
An ethos
‘Once farmers, landowners, land managers actually know what nature they’ve got on their land, their behaviours will change. They want to demonstrate why their place is special and why they, as a private interest, can be trusted to look after the land‘ via John Varley
latest stuff (moved to sections below in due course)
Reducing missinfo | Practitioner knowledge | Toads, fields and trees | food security | on hunting – IUCN | climate and insects | learning from enviro comms | growing more UK veg | rewilding business – Savills | constructive arguments – BBC | Land update | Farm tenants (Rock report) | WT eagles project, Cumbria | WWF wildlife, Namibia | Transforming food | | | Farming Investment fund | Conserving woodcock | Restoring peatland | Tree planting media | Contested landscapes | Climate and biod targets | Kestrel and rodenticides | Affordable food systems | IUCN archives
Farmland
Heterogeneity key for wildlife (Benton 2003)| Semi-natural losses (Fuller 2016)| Crop diversity vital (2016)| Shades of grey organic (2017)| Early land share-spare (2005)| Land sharing and sparing (FCRN 2018)| “Farmland future landscapes?” Apr 21 | “Future Rural Land Uses 2030. CAAV | 20 years of RSPB/GWCT farmland birds | Manure aids predator insects that eat pest aphids | Organic v conventional farming | Roundup and bumblebees | What is agroecology? | Agri-enviro and farmland birds | Mosaic farmland and farmers | Solitary bee habitat | Rural surveyor view land use 2021 | Agri-enviro schemes and services | Bio control of crop pests | Trade-offs in AES | Farmland data (S&P) | Farm research Savills | Nature-inclusive farmers + | Oil seed rape pest hunters | Native flowers in agric | Weeds – injurious and beneficial | Heterogeneous farmed-scape | Strip cropping for bio-pest control | Hardy livestock for habitat | Deeper shade of green | Blocks of agric wildflowers | 175yr farmland research (Rothamsted) | bees, farmland habitat – bonus for OSR
Govt updates
Engaging farmers in enviro (Nat England 2021) | Update on Sustainable Farming Incentive (Oct 21 – see pic above on links) | New landscape for farmers? (Welsh Govt) | NAO audit of Defra ELMs (Sept 21) | Nature and landscape recovery (Jan 22) | PAC rev of ELM (Jan 22) | Food Security update | UKRI – agri-enviro-net-zero
Trees
A forestry consent in Scotland re special conditions (pdf) and Govt Scot news | Agroforestry: sheep and trees | Combating climate change – a role for forestry (Read report) | Modern forests for carbon and nature | Trees, heather, and carbon | Conifers role for biodiversity | Birds and mammals in early conifers | Herbicides and forestry | 50yrs of nat regen – research paper, Conversation col | Forestry Comm – climate update (pdf) | Birds in conifers | Upland woodland restoration | Enviro Statement for forestry planting (Jerah) | Scottish forestry proposal (Glen Dye moor) | ground-nesting birds and forests
“It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it”
Joseph Joubert
Enviro hotchpotch
Predation of ground-nesting raptor pdf | Merlins and moorland 2017| Gamekeepers working with BTO on wader data | trees in agric landscapes and birds of prey | Bats and farmland margins | Soil, upland pasture and arthropods | Predicts project | Biodiversity intactness (Scholes) plus commentary (Mace) | Parliamentary debate on hedgehogs (July 21) | Human scent and nest monitoring | Animal sentience (Spectator) | Academic’s twitter thread post-Covid | Use of word ‘resilience’ | ‘Live’ data and bait welfare | Global Popl 2100 | Stingless bees impact | Land share-spare | Whole-half earth | Conc v spread footprint (Balmford) | Wider field margins | Tim Benton at Soil Association conf (6 to 30min) | Global populations (urban/rural) | Whole-half earth? | Evid-based research and here | Elk, fire, habitat
“I think we all need to imagine a graded spectrum of complementary work, rather than fiercely defending the boundaries of our own particular approach”
a scientist
Wildlife management (also soc science, reintro)
River Otter beaver management plan (pdf) | Kestrels and little terns | Informing decisions on trophy hunting ICUN (pdf) | Gull management | Moles – a long read | Carnivore conservation | Livestock and wildlife interaction | Public perceptions of deer control | Wolves in Norway | Buzzards and pheasants | Public view of pest control | |
Nat Cap, climate (see all others)
Framing of land uses| Big beasts, over trees best for climate| Removal of stock from upland pasture (Marrs 2021) | Burning and peatland position statement (March 21) – critical review (May 21) | Salt marsh grazing | Habitat and carbon storage review (Nat Eng 2021) | Farming peatland task force | Exmoor Defra test and trial (May 21) | Economics of Biodiversity: Dasgupta Review (pdf, see from p489, The Road Ahead) | People percept and peat restore *see soc sci| Wind farm roads and predators | Bio net gain 3.0: research paper, govt blog, media report | Nature-based – BES 2021 | Climate Change Committee reports – land use policy | MET Office report on climate and agric | A financier’s version of guano as nat cap| Chatham House climate update | Nat Cap report (OFC, Jan 22) | Carbon ranching | Lords report on nature-based | biodiversity net gain | Critical thinking meat (Overton Window) | OFC reports 1&2 on net zero | ‘Working with Nature’ EA report (speech)
“We must be able to talk about wildlife management without pointing a gun at the conservationist holding the gun”
[Aldo Leopold might have said this, but didn’t > context]
Conservation conflict (see also social science)
The Joint Raptor Study – Langholm 1| Langholm Moor Demonstration Project 7 year rev | Harriers and partridges in France| Mick Green on conservation failure in ECOS | blind spot in conservation | misplaced conservation | Scientists and extinction denial | UK pet nos | Tilting at Wildlife | Sat tagged hen harriers | grouse, harriers (Thirgood) | Roads as barriers to bees | On bumblebees [Goulson Silent Summer] | Raptors on grouse moors (Newton, 2020) | Values and dialogue in a conflict | Land use and biodiversity (Newbold) | Elephant-human conflict (via Kenyan Star) | Information, trust and carnivores | Buzzards, trophic cascade | UK footprint on biod (EAC) | Bikes in national parks | dogwalkers and birds | 10 facts for land | Do protected areas work? | bats, hedges, turbines | deer, habitat, panther
Rewild, reintro
‘Headstarting’ cirl bunting British Birds mag (pdf), Rewilding In English Uplands – policy and practice (Sandom, 2019) | Spend on megafauna | Translocating harriers | Hacking harriers | Beavers in lowland agric catchments | Red kites reintro (pdf) and evaluation | Rewilding ‘guiding principles’ | Wolves in Scotland | Roast boar | Beaver management | Elephants in Europe | Bears, habitat, people | Nature-based tourism
Gen conservation
‘What works in Conservation‘ Sutherland et al via Conservationevidence.com 2018 revised edition | Upland birds – habitat and predation mosaic (pfd) | An ecological trap | Culture of killing – British Birds 2013 and author resp | Wading bird (curlew et al) research Scotland (nesting) / Northern Ireland (breeding) / England (moorland) / England and Wales (lowland) / Upland land use / Wales (habitat) /2016 Scotland (25yr study) / Wales (habitat) / UK (breeding) / UK (wader chick predators) | Rural gardens and late summer habitat for bumblebees | hedgehogs and badgers (landscape of fear) | Partridges in Ireland | GWCT position statements | Conflicting conservation views | Yellowhammers – part 1, part 2 | Biodiversity intactness (NHM) | Biodiversity indicators (Oct21)
Counterintuitive stuff (odd to some, normal to others)
Lammergeier to bearded vulture – a name change (BBC Wildlife)| Sea fishing food factory – campaign v science| Releasing game birds and rare species red.legs and bustards | BASC grant to WWT | Railways for wild bees in urban woodlands| Shorebirds thrive off beach-cast wrack | Organic crop density and pollinators | Bird data during Covid | How to title research | US view on carbon capture (Grist) | Hunters and animal rights morals | Feeding wildlife – too kind? | Converting bracken to heather (pdf) | Bees foraging urban | Megafauna conservation | Lions and governance | Roadkill and covid-19 | Use of fire | The Irrigation Paradox (Jevon) | Agri-food systems – comparing contested versions | Paradox of productivity
Social science (& Scicomm)
Flooding and talking to farmers (Wynne-Jones 2016) pdf| Behavioural ecology farmers – what does it mean for wildlife? (Stoate) Pdf here| Mind the gap – scientists and practitioners | Science needs comms skills| Soc media issues | Role play ‘games’ | Voluntary approaches to conservation | Behavioural ecology of farmers pdf | Influencing farmer behaviour | behavioural science for nature and humans | Engaging landowners on conservation | Private land identity for conservation | Engaging with farmers (various inc pdf 2021) Conservation sector crisis (Barkham, 2020 pdf) | Protected areas | Dunning-Kruger effect, interview with Dunning | Irish peat and people | Media framing of conservation | Turtle meat, radio and TV | Han Rosling full flow | Indigenous rights | Smarter negotiation (Harvard) | Farmers and experts | Scientists stigma of retraction and changing their minds | Dangers of Twitter | Power of nudging | Economic selfishness | 5yrs of human behaviour and future | Social Science (book rev of SMC) | How to reach sci-skeptics
Hunting etc
Gamebird release (RSPB unpublished Report 40) (pdf)| Lead shot research paper – Green et al – Feb 21| Understanding gamekeepers research paper | Green shoots mapping | Understanding hunters in Malta – Pdf)| Gamebird management (Mustin) | Hunter becomes hunted | Waterfowl management in North America | Hunting for landscape – Denmark | Views of Spanish hunters | Shooting and rural communities (pdf) | Wildfowler motivations | Game partridges and bustards | Risk of removing wild meat | Norway hunting and commentary | Wild meat, carbon footprint | Open letter on trophy hunting (Jan 22) | Ducks for habitat | Lead shot pdf (BASC) | Gamebag census | Duck hunt norms
Water
Dippers and water quality| Best streams for salmon and trout | Barriers and non-migratory fish | Logs and water temps | Forest felling and streamlife | A fisheries review (GWCT – 2020) | Chicken water wars | Fisheries and ecosystem | Farmed and wild ‘blue food’ | Beavers and fish (WTT) | Canals for nature |
Food, if not under farmland, nat cap, climate etc
Plant-based trend| Meat and methane| Meat and greens | Food system transformation | Land use, covid, zoonosis | Corporate food | Palm oil land share-spare | Climate and food (Harvard Law) | Broken Plate (2021) | UK National Food Strategy 2021 –pdf | Gene edit (in Nature) | Small scale fish as nutrition | Diet change post covid | Lancet and animal feed | Crop land in 21stC | Meat activism | Energy and indoor farming | Reducing food waste |
“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity”
George Patton, 1947
finally, some Twitter snap polls (anecdotal social science)
Food standards | Food security | Beaver hat I |Beaver hat II | Wildlife trust logo? | Peak protagonist | Hunting academia| Wilder enviro schemes | Grant schemes or bust? | How to reward ELMS | Open Farms to public | Troll, moi? | Lead-free shot | Vole id | Re-name harrier | Pork, tree, crow, curlew | Ecology survey for you? | hunting and scientists | dialogue facing |
“Evidence is important, but perception matters“
RY
n.b.
What triggered me to set up this up? Tribalism in a word. Exhibit A: my letter to, reply from, Micheal Gove (as Defra Sec of State). Exhibit B: this from Liz Truss, as a previous Defra Sec of State. Exhibit C: this blog on ‘local knowledge’ and research-based evidence.
Ask me for pdfs – stay curious, stay sane!
Addendum – Science Rocks – a blog introducing this page. Many issues are cross-disciplinarian, social, ecological, political, economic. [Feel free to contact me, contribute towards my unaffiliated, unfunded time on this, thank you]
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