Arable field margins

Arable field margin
The Countryside Stewardship Scheme and some Environmentally Sensitive Areas can fund many forms of field margin management.

Field margins are generally the least productive areas of a field and just a 1-metre grass strip between the outer edge of the hedge and the crop edge can benefit wildlife in many ways.

Wider margins are funded by the or created using set-aside (see ‘Non-rotational set-aside’). The management depends on the wildlife; different management types may be used around the farm.

Benefits for wildlife

Grass margins can provide nest sites for ground-nesting birds

A tussocky grass strip against a short, thick hedge provides an ideal habitat for ground-nesting bird species such as grey partridges, whitethroats and yellowhammers. Corn buntings may use the same kind of strip alongside hedgeless field boundaries.

Grass margins boost numbers of beneficial insects and spiders on arable farmland

Tussocky grass margins provide essential over-wintering habitat for many welcome insects and spiders, which will feed on crop pests in the spring.

Grass margins act as a barrier to weeds and encourage predatory insects, which help to control crop pests.

They are also used by grasshoppers, sawflies and other insects that provide chick food for birds such as partridges, tree sparrows and reed buntings. Wild flower strips attract nectar-feeding insects, such as bumble bees, and hoverflies, which lay their eggs where there is an abundant supply of aphids for the larvae to feed on.

Grass margins provide habitat for small mammals

Small mammal populations, such as voles and harvest mice, are able to build up in wide grass margins, providing ideal hunting habitat for barn owls and kestrels. Wide margins away from roadsides can reduce the risk of barn owls being killed by road traffic.

Cultivated margins can help conserve rare arable plant species

Many rare plants are now confined to the edges of arable fields. Careful management of these margins can help them without creating a significant weed burden at the edge of the crop. Cultivated margins on light soils with low fertility can provide seeds for farmland birds. Choose sites carefully to prevent infestations of noxious weeds.