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The
cumulative effect of small changes in land management by individual
farmers and land owners across the country can have a massive impact
on brown hare numbers.
Many of these management techniques are rewarded financially
through the Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) and the Higher Level
Stewardship (HLS) schemes launched by RDS in 2005.
Farmers with low densities of hare, who would like to provide
additional or improve existing brown hare habitat on their land
through environmental stewardship, could consider the following
management options.
Arable
farmland:
-
Leave
buffer strips, strips of set-aside and allow awkward to reach
field corners to establish naturally, this provides both grazing
and cover for brown hares.
-
Increase
the variety of crops and planting regimes.
This will result in year-round cover and nutrition for
the brown hare on arable farmland.
-
Leave
over wintered stubbles to provide an important winter food
source and cover for brown hare.
-
Use
beetle banks can be used to break up large fields and provide
cover for hares.
-
Skylark
plots also break up large tracts of land by creating small
blocks of shorter vegetation, providing additional grazing
opportunities, with cover within easy reach, for the brown hare.
Pastoral
farmland:
-
Use
low or no fertiliser on grassland.
This will increase the diversity and abundance of plant
species, supplying both the cover and variety in the diet the
brown hare needs.
-
Provide
a variety in the grassland sward structure by creating a number
of different vegetation heights and enhancing the level of cover
for brown hares.
-
Reducing
the number of times a year the silage is cut and preferably
cutting after the end of August (when the leverets are more
independent) will result in lower brown hare mortality.
-
Stocking
densities should ideally be kept low.
For more specific information contact the Game Conservancy Trust (www.gct.org.uk)
to obtain a copy of their Brown Hare leaflet, which
contains detailed land management advice.
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Conservation Headlands
Field Margins
Beetle Banks
Pollen and Nectar Margins
Wild Bird Seed Mixes
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