Each year Journal of Applied Ecology awards the Southwood Prize to the best paper in the journal by an author at the start of their career. Today we present the shortlisted papers for this year’s award, based on the previous (56^th) volume of the journal.

The winner will be selected in the coming weeks so watch this space for future announcements.

This year’s shortlisted candidates are:

Evaluating European LIFE conservation projects: Improvements in survival of an endangered vulture – Jaume Adrià Badia-Boher

Privately protected areas provide key opportunities for the regional persistence of large- and medium-sized mammals – Hayley Clements

Key pollen host plants provide balanced diets for wild bee larvae: A lesson for planting flower strips and hedgerows – Michał Filipiak

A nation-wide survey of neonicotinoid insecticides in agricultural land with implications for agri-environment schemes – Ségolène Humann-Guilleminot

Ungulates mediate trade-offs in carbon storage and wildfire hazard in Mediterranean oak woodlands – Xavier Lecomte

Are agri-environment schemes successful in delivering conservation grazing management on saltmarsh? – Lucy Mason

The contribution of spatial mass effects to plant diversity in arable fields – Helen Metcalfe

Ecological, biophysical and production effects of incorporating rest into grazing regimes: A global meta-analysis – Sarah McDonald

Flowering resources distract pollinators from crops: Model predictions from landscape simulations – Charlie Nicholson

Organic farming positively affects honeybee colonies in a flower-poor period in agricultural landscapes – Dimitry Wintermantel