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Arable Area Payment Scheme 2004
APPENDIX 6: CHOOSING YOUR SET-ASIDE LAND
INTRODUCTION
1 In all cases, the land must be eligible for AAPS (see paragraphs 13-27 in section B).
2 With the appropriate choice of site and management, you can use set-aside land to meet agronomic objectives, benefit wildlife, provide public access and protect archaeological features. You need to decide on your objectives and then choose your site and management system accordingly. You should take account of features, wildlife and agronomic problems on your land and on neighbouring land. You may want to get independent professional advice.
3. Plan your set-aside land to make the most of agronomic and environmental benefits. You will need to consider:
- whether you will leave the set-aside land in one place or move it around;
- where you will position it;
- what cover you will choose; and
- how you will manage it.
You will also want to take account of the opportunities on your farm including soil type, the history of the land, neighbouring features, wildlife and archaeological sites in the area.
WHETHER OR NOT TO MOVE YOUR SET-ASIDE LAND
4 . If suitable land is left in set-aside over several years, it can bring significant environmental benefits. Existing wildlife habitats can be expanded, buffered and linked, and new ones can be created. Leaving the set-aside land in one place also means that you can avoid agricultural operations on the land at times when wildlife may be disturbed.
5. On the other hand, moving your set-aside land can also offer environmental benefits, particularly if it follows cereals and the stubbles are allowed to regenerate over winter to provide feeding grounds for birds. With appropriate management, natural regeneration can encourage many varieties of flowers to grow. Also, rotating your set-aside land can provide an effective break to reduce the populations of the more aggressive weeds and to tackle diseases.
SITING YOUR SET-ASIDE LAND
Wildlife benefits
6. For wildlife, set-aside land is best sited next to or linked to existing important areas such as woods and hedges, unimproved grazing land, rivers, lochs, lakes, streams and moorland, especially if it is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), other important land or land which has only recently come into agricultural production. (Scottish Natural Heritage can give you advice on SSSIs and other important sites.) If set-aside land is sited next to these types of areas, it will help to protect them. However, aggressive species on poorly managed set-aside land could take over a fragile SSSI. Most birds will benefit the most from a variety of relatively small plots of set-aside land across the farm, although a few need larger areas.
7. If set-aside land is used to link existing features, new habitats are created within the set-aside land itself and beneficial 'corridors' are created for wildlife.
Field margins and headlands
8. As long as they meet the minimum width of 20 metres, setting aside field margins and headlands can offer considerable agronomic and environmental advantages. It reduces the disturbance to existing farming patterns. At the same time it can extend and link existing habitats such as hedgerows and small woodlands, or provide new ones (for example, rough uncultivated strips that are vital as hunting grounds for barn owls and other important predators of crop pests). Setting aside field margins also allows easier access to maintain features such as hedges and ditches.
Short-rotation coppice
9. Short-rotation coppice (SRC) can have a significant effect on the landscape. As a result, you should take care to blend the coppice area into the landscape. In particular, you should:
- avoid sites of wildlife and archaeological interest;
- avoid strong rectangular or geometric shapes;
- consider groups, rather than isolated pockets, of SRC stands;
- consider the variation in heights which will happen throughout the coppice growing period;
- use existing trees and other features;
- make sure that interesting views and landscape features are not lost as a result of areas being planted next to public rights of way (if the land is crossed by a public right of way, consider how best this can be included in the layout);
- wherever possible, plant without ploughing to avoid soil disturbance (if you need to plough, make sure that the furrows follow the natural contour); and
- leave an unplanted strip along the bank if the planting area includes a watercourse.
SRC may qualify for a woodland expansion grant under the Scottish Forestry Grants Scheme (SFGS) but not for yearly payments under the FWPS. To qualify for the SFGS, SRC planting must be in line with the Forestry Commission's environmental guidelines. You may set aside more than 50% of the area you are claiming for under the AAPS as long as you use all your set-aside land for multi-annual crops for biomass production.
10. For more advice on planting and managing SRC, we advise you to consult the Forestry Commission and their publication 'Establishment and Management of SRC - Practice Note 007 by Ian Tubby'.
Managing hedges
11. You can use set-aside land to help manage your hedges and to increase their value for wildlife and the landscape. For example, it can provide access to hedges for trimming in late winter instead of autumn, so that birds and animals can use the berries and fruits as winter food. Access during the winter will also be easier for carrying out hedge restoration work such as laying, coppicing and gapping-up.
12. Wildlife will benefit the most from a variety of hedge heights and shapes across your farm, but no established hedge should be less than 1.5 metres high. Avoid trimming when birds are nesting and encourage the hedges to produce flowers and fruit by not trimming every year. For example, trim part of your hedges each year, or trim one side of a hedge one year and the other the next. A narrow grassy headland between the hedge and the crop will provide a habitat for predators of crop pests and nesting areas for birds such as partridges.
Nitrate leaching and soil erosion
13. If part of your land is in a nitrate vulnerable zone (NVZ), siting your set-aside land within the NVZ will help reduce nitrate leaching. Siting your set-aside land next to a watercourse will help to reduce the likelihood of pesticides and fertilisers polluting the watercourse.
14. In areas that are prone to soil erosion, siting set-aside land on particularly vulnerable fields, or parts of fields, may help to reduce the problem and reduce the likelihood of pesticides and fertilisers polluting that area.
Archaeological sites
15. Set-aside land can help to protect archaeological remains and deposits from being damaged or disturbed. Archaeological sites survive in arable land in three ways.
- As visible, upstanding areas which have not been ploughed in the recent past
- As sites with no upstanding features but with buried remains visible from the air (cropmarks)
- As sites which combine upstanding and cropmark remains
If you have an archaeological site on your arable land, keeping it in set-aside can improve its condition. Setting aside land next to these sites (for example, burial mounds preserved as 'islands' in arable cropping) can improve the site's setting. Set-aside land can also improve access.
16. If archaeological sites are set aside, sowing to grass is likely to be the most suitable way of managing them. Planting or regenerating woodland and scrub would not be appropriate. If natural regeneration is used, you must take care not to allow scrub to develop, as deep-rooted vegetation can cause damage. The main requirements are to make sure that:
- you don't break the ground surface;
- you maintain some kind of green cover; and
- you cut the cover at least once a year to prevent scrub developing.
The timing of the cut should ideally reflect local conditions (for example, ground-nesting birds and any rare species of flowers flowering). To protect ground-nesting birds, we recommend that you delay cutting until mid June if possible. You would need an exemption from the management rules to carry out any excavations on the site, as this would destroy the cover. This exemption would be on top of the usual consent needed from Historic Scotland.
17. You can get information about the location, extent and importance of archaeological sites from the appropriate local authority archaeologist or from Historic Scotland. You can also get an information leaflet, 'Archaeological Information and Advice in Scotland', from Historic Scotland free of charge.
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