The Scottish Government

« Previous | Contents | Next »

Listen

FIELD MARGINS AND BOUNDARIES

(a) Management of Linear Features (Land Managers Options)

Hedgerows
Dykes

Objectives

This option aims to improve the landscape and increase biodiversity by creating and improving habitats for breeding birds, plants and other wildlife. We will support the cost of managing farm hedgerows, hedgerow trees and dykes by sensitive cutting and reinstatement as appropriate.

Hedgerows and hedgerow trees

Requirements:

• When managing for landscape benefits, participants may cut the hedges on both sides a maximum of once every two years and only cut one half of the length of the hedgerow in any one year;
• When managing for biodiversity benefits, participants may cut the hedge on both sides a maximum of once every three years and only cut one third of the hedgerow in any one year;
• Manage hedges over several years so they are at least 1.5 metres tall and at least 2 metres wide at the base, in an A-frame shape;
• Only cut back, trim or lop hedgerow trees between 1 December and 1 March;
• We encourage you to lay hedges;
• Where possible, encourage hedgerow trees to develop at intervals in the hedge, by marking and not cutting them;
• Plant trees of an appropriate native-species and shrubs to fill gaps in a hedge (a list of native hedgerow species is available from Scottish Natural Heritage ( SNH))

Dykes

Requirements:

• Participants should repair and reinstate deteriorated and damaged drystane dykes. Drystane dykes should be maintained with material that is traditional to the locality and to a standard and style that is normally found there. Only dyking which has suffered minor damage or deterioration ( i.e. from fallen coping stones to totally collapsed sections of wall less than 2 metres in length) is eligible under this measure.
• Dykes which have been restored using ESA, LMCMS, CPS or RSS funding are not eligible for funding under this measure.

Hedgerows and hedgerow trees: To meet EU requirements there is a limit of 50 metres of hedgerow maintained per hectare of the land that is farmed by the beneficiary.

Dykes: To meet EU requirements, the beneficiary will not be able to maintain more than 50 square metres of dyke under this measure for every hectare of land farmed. The beneficiary will prepare a sketch map which clearly shows the location of the linear features to be managed. The beneficiary will need to keep this map for inspection purposes. Hedges or dykes which are receiving funding under existing RSS, CPS, ESA Scheme, Land Management Contracts Menu Scheme or Organic Aid Scheme agreements will not be eligible to apply for this measure.

Agri-environment Baseline

Amounts of support

The payment rate has been calculated on the basis of additional cost and income forgone from the commitment made.

Payment rate

Hedgerows: €0.15 per metre.
Dyking: €0.15 per square metre.

(b) Management of Hedgerows (Rural Priorities)

Objectives

To enhance existing, restored or new hedgerows, which will in turn provide improved habitats for invertebrates, birds and small mammals. BAP species that may benefit include Song thrush, Bullfinch and Grey Partridge.

Scope and actions

Under this option beneficiaries must:

• Fill any gaps in the hedge by coppicing, laying or planting. Only new hedge planting or gapping up carried out during the first 18 months of development of a newly planted hedge can be claimed under Planting or re-planting of hedge capital option. The cost of coppicing, laying and any later planting is included in the management payment for this option and therefore cannot be claimed under the hedge planting, coppicing or laying capital options;
• When managing a hedge for landscape benefits, participants may cut the hedge on both sides a maximum of once every 2 years and only cut one half of the length of the hedgerow in any one year;
• When managing for biodiversity benefits, participants may cut the hedge on both sides a maximum of once every three years and only cut one third of the hedge in any one year;
• Manage hedges over several years so they are at least 1.5 metres tall and at least 2 metres wide at the base;
• Hedges should be trimmed between 1 December and 1 March;
• Pesticides must not be applied within 2 metres of an established hedge;
• Spot treatment of weeds within 1 metre of any new hedge plant may be carried out using an approved herbicide;
• The hedge bottom must not be mown or grazed;
• Where a fence is required, it must be sited at least one metre from the centre line of the hedge;
• Both sides of a hedgerow require to be managed, i.e. a 2 metre strip will be managed: 1 metre on either side of the centre line. Both sides of the hedgerow must therefore lie within the boundary of the farm concerned and a 1 metre strip on each side of the centre line of the hedge must be managed. Therefore, this option cannot be adopted for a hedge that itself forms the march, whether it be a boundary hedge or a roadside hedge.
• It will also be necessary that for a new hedge to be eligible for management under the Management of Hedgerows option, the hedge must be planted as early as possible in the first year and certainly by the autumn immediately following approval. In its first 18 months of development, the hedge will be considered as both 'new hedge planting' and in early establishment. The hedge should be fully established by the end of that 18 month period.
• Where new hedging or gapping up of existing hedges is undertaken, plants must be established in a double row with a minimum of 6 plants per metre. A single species must not account for more than 75% of plants established. Species used should be native-species trees and shrubs (a list of native hedgerow species is available from SNH), although beech and sycamore may be planted where these are appropriate and traditional in hedges locally. Stock of local provenance should be obtained wherever possible. Plants must be protected from grazing livestock (farmed and wild) and, where they are a problem, rabbits. Protection may be in the form of stockproof fencing with, where necessary, rabbit-proof netting. Weed control around each hedge plant is essential during the first three to four years. Weed control may be carried out by frequent cutting or mulching (incl. black polythene sheeting) or spot treatment using a herbicide approved for this purpose. If hedges are to be planted or replanted along roadsides, the highway authority's consent is required for planting within 5 metres of the edge of any major roadway.
• Leggy hedges may be coppiced by cutting the main stem about 75-100 centimetres above ground level. Cut at a slight angle to allow water to run off. Fencing may be necessary to prevent stock browsing the re-growth.
• For the woody components of hedges, the aim should be to achieve a bushy structure down to the base with a minimum width of 2m and minimum of height of 1.5m. Occasional plants may be left to develop into hedgerow trees.

Description and justification of the different types of commitments, based on their expected environmental impact in relation to environmental needs and priorities

Enhancement of existing hedgerows through a controlled cutting regime for the benefit of invertebrates, small mammals and birds.

Geographical targeting

Established or beaten up hedge.

Agri-environment Baseline

Amounts of support

The payment rate has been calculated on the basis of additional cost and income forgone from the commitment made. Hectarage limits apply

Trimmed once in 3 years €1.36 per metre
Trimmed once in 2 years €1.36 per metre

(c) Management of extended hedges (Rural Priorities)

Objectives

To create hedges that are wider and taller than normal which, along with the adjacent undisturbed areas, will support a diverse range of plants as well as habitats for invertebrates, birds and small mammals. BAP species that may benefit include Grey Partridge, Linnett, Bullfinch and Corn Bunting.

Scope and actions

• All farm livestock must be excluded and no arable cultivations may be carried out within a strip extending to at least 3 metres from the centre line of the hedge.
• When the hedge is trimmed, it must not be trimmed again for at least 3 years. Hedges should be trimmed between 1 December and 1 March.
• The grass in the strip must not be cut, unless with the prior written agreement of Scottish Ministers.
• Fertiliser, slurry or farmyard manure must not be applied to the site.

Also

• Creation of an extended hedge must be undertaken at the relevant time during the first year of the agreement, and must be maintained and managed for a period of not less than 5 years.
• Consideration should be given to the planting of appropriate native-species trees and shrubs in hedge gaps (a list of native hedgerow species is available from Scottish Natural Heritage ( SNH).
• Where only one side of the hedgerow is being managed under this prescription, for example roadside hedge, the other side must be cut no more frequently than once a year and between 1 December and 1 March.
• Only new hedge planting or gapping up carried out during the first 18 months of development of a newly planted hedge can be claimed under Planting or re-planting of hedge capital option. The cost of coppicing, laying and any later planting is included in the management payment for this option and therefore cannot be claimed under the hedge planting, coppicing or laying capital options

Description and justification of the different types of commitments, based on their expected environmental impact in relation to environmental needs and priorities

Support for creation of hedges with adjacent undisturbed grass margins, enhancing this habitat to support a range of plants, invertebrates, birds and small mammals.

Geographical targeting

A strip of arable or improved grassland situated alongside an existing or newly created hedge.

Agri-environment Baseline

Amounts of support

The payment rate has been calculated on the basis of additional cost and income forgone from the commitment made. Hectarage limits apply.

Payment Rate

Trimmed once in 3 years: €0.77 per metre.

(d) Management of Grass Margins and Beetlebanks in Arable Fields (Land Managers Options and Rural Priorities)

Objectives

The aim of this option is to create a grass strip along the boundary of or across an arable field on which insects can over-winter and breed early in the season and to provide a barrier to soil erosion. The strips provide food and cover for birds and other wildlife and a habitat for the development of beneficial insects which can provide a useful form of biological control by attacking aphid populations in adjacent crops. Cross field strips on sloping fields will also help to reduce soil and nutrient run-off and the risk of erosion. The reduction in flow rates may also help to reduce flooding. Some BAP species that may benefit: Grey Partridge, Linnet, Bullfinch, Spotted Flycatcher, Corn Bunting, Purple Ramping-Fumitory, Cornflower.

Scope and actions

Manage a strip between 1.5 metres and 6 metres in width in an arable field. Where the management is to benefit Hen Harriers, Corn Buntings, Barn Owl or Kestrel, a minimum width of strip of 6 metres is recommended:

• the strip must be established by sowing a suitable mix of grass seed, including at least one species of nectar-feeding plant such as red clover, into a sterile seedbed.
• fertiliser, slurry or farmyard manure must not be applied to the strips.
• Scrub control will only be allowed with the prior written agreement of Scottish Ministers.
• Spot treatment of scheduled and non-native invasive weeds is permitted without prior written approval.
• Applicants will not be eligible for any additional payment to control scrub or weeds.
• A sterile strip up to 0.5m in width may be created and maintained by rotavation and herbicide along the inner edge of the grass margin. Such a strip will provide young birds with an area on which to dry out and also act as a buffer preventing the spread of weeds from the grass margin into the crop.
• Grazing or topping of the grass margin or beetlebank after harvest is permissible, provided the average height of vegetation in the strip is not taken below 100 mm.
• Where the entire field is not to be sown to an arable crop, the minimum width of the arable area adjacent to the grass strip will be 30 metres.
• any area adjacent to the grass margins or beetlebanks must remain in an arable crop, e.g. cereals, linseeds, oilseed, root crops, fruit crops or protein crops, including vining peas, for the duration of the agreement, to obtain full conservation benefit from this prescription. In a mixed arable situation where an area will be put into grass or a non-eligible crop after 3 years, the beetlebank/margin may be transferred to another eligible field for the remaining 2 years of the agreement. In this situation, a beetlebank/grass margin may only be carried out once during the 5-year cycle of the agreement. In the organic situation where the normal rotation is a 2 year cycle, the beetlebank/margin may be moved twice during the duration of the agreement to ensure that the area is in an eligible crop. The Scottish Executive need to be given details at application stage of the beetlebank/grass margins to be 'rotated' in this way, i.e. field identifiers and area measurements

Description and justification of the different types of commitments, based on their expected environmental impact in relation to environmental needs and priorities

To encourage creation of grass strips in arable situations to provide biodiversity and water quality benefits.

Geographical targeting

Suitable areas will be identified through an environment/diffuse pollution audit. Where the grass area is designed, in relation to the degree of slope, to prevent or minimise erosion and thus the potential for the silting or diffuse pollution by nutrients of nearby watercourses and lochs. Any areas of soil compaction should be remedied before grass is planted.

Agri-environment Baseline

Amounts of support

The payment rate has been calculated on the basis of additional cost and income forgone from the commitment made. Hectarage limits apply.

Payment Rate €691.69/ha

« Previous | Contents | Next »