Supportive effect of uncut refuge strips on grassland arthropods may depend on the amount and width of strips

In this blog post, author Kitti Révész and her team share their latest study exploring the effects of uncut refuge strips on the abundance and diversity of arthropods. What is the best management practice of hay meadows from an arthropod conservation point of view? Grassland arthropods are declining as a consequence of land-use change and intensive management. There are efforts to spread extensive management through … Continue reading Supportive effect of uncut refuge strips on grassland arthropods may depend on the amount and width of strips

Adaptive staged-scale restoration practices for upland prairies

Shortlisted for the Chico Mendes Prize 2023 Claudia Muzychko shares her latest Practice Insights which documents current on-site activity on Violet Prairie, USA, and provides a management planning reference for prairie restoration. A version of this post is available in Italian. Sometimes in land management we can focus so intently on direct problems complicating our practices that we may not have the space or time … Continue reading Adaptive staged-scale restoration practices for upland prairies

Pratiche di restauro adattativo su scala progressiva per le praterie in altopiano

Claudia Muzychko condivide il suo ultimo studio sulle pratiche in cui viene documentata l’attuale attività in loco nella Violet Prairie, negli Stati Uniti, e fornisce un riferimento per la pianificazione gestionale del restauro delle praterie. Una versione di questo post è disponibile in inglese. A volte, nella gestione del territorio, possiamo concentrarci così tanto sui problemi diretti che complicano le nostre pratiche che non abbiamo … Continue reading Pratiche di restauro adattativo su scala progressiva per le praterie in altopiano

Can pasture-fed livestock farming practices improve the ecological condition of grasslands?

Innovative farmers are adopting agro-ecological approaches to producing beef which they believe are better for biodiversity and soils. Lisa Norton (UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology) and colleagues investigated the validity of these claims by comparing their grassland to those across the wider countryside surveyed as part of the national GB Countryside Survey.  Public concerns about the environmental impacts of meat production add to the … Continue reading Can pasture-fed livestock farming practices improve the ecological condition of grasslands?

Restorative recreation: One landowner’s restoration experience in Iowa’s Loess Hills

In his latest From Practice article, author and landowner Patrick Swanson describes his experience restoring a native prairie remnant in Iowa’s Loess Hills and introduces a new paradigm that maximizes benefits to personal wellbeing while improving the landscape for other species. This article is part of the cross-journal, cross-society Special Feature on the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Ecosystems worldwide are under mounting stress from … Continue reading Restorative recreation: One landowner’s restoration experience in Iowa’s Loess Hills

Conservation grazing on saltmarsh: are agri-environment schemes helping?

Following a recently published Research Article, Jennifer Smart explores this question and considers ways we can continue to work with the farming community to achieve conservation goals. Jennifer worked on this post with the British Ecological Society Policy team. In contemporary landscapes, grazing by domesticated cattle and sheep has become an increasingly important aspect of grassland management. This is largely because natural processes such as … Continue reading Conservation grazing on saltmarsh: are agri-environment schemes helping?