Introduction
This Option encourages the creation, conservation and enhancement of the buffer area surrounding fens and lowland raised bogs by maintaining/raising water levels and preventing enrichment through run-off from adjacent fields.
Fens are peat-forming wetlands that form in places where water naturally collects, such as valley bottoms and basins. In addition to rainfall, fens receive their water and nutrients from their catchment, through seeps, springs and ground water. Fens have unique habitat features including water of high alkalinity, which supports plants and animals not widely found elsewhere. Fens are particularly vulnerable to nutrient input from adjacent fields, which encourages rank growth of weeds on the wetland.
What this will achieve
The aim is to support the range of plant and animal communities found in these wetlands. Some Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species that may benefit include Sphagnum (bog mosses), Bog Bean, Bottle Sedge, Willow Carr, Lesser Tussock Sedge, Slender Green Feather-moss, Dragonflies, Water Beetles, Water Vole, Otter and Snipe.
What you can do
Requirements
- prepare an outline management plan which must be agreed with Scottish Ministers and submit this with your application. The grazing plan must reflect the specific biodiversity requirements of the site and may be subject to change as the site develops. It will identify the fen or lowland raised bog communities that will benefit, the area that will be managed as a buffer, what will be achieved with the buffer and how it will be achieved
- manage the fen or lowland raised bog area in accordance with the Management of Wetlands Option or the Management of Lowland Raised Bog Option
- manage the surrounding area of catchment as a grass/semi-natural vegetation buffer. This will reduce the risk of nutrients applied to adjacent crops leaching into the fen or lowland raised bog area. The external boundary of the buffer area must be at least 10 metres in width
- leave existing semi-natural swards intact, even if they contain rushes. If no sward exists at the beginning of your undertaking, buffer vegetation must be established in the first spring following approval by sowing a suitable mixture of native grass/sedge and wildflower seeds for which an additional payment is available
- break field drains and culverts and bring them to the surface to reduce the direct flow of water, nutrients and chemicals into the wetland and encourage drainage water to flow across the established sward in the buffer. This reduces the risk of nutrient input from adjacent fields because the sward will act as a physical barrier, filtering out suspended solids and allowing plants and bacteria to take up nutrients before the water reaches the wetland. The creation of scrapes and pools downstream from the surfaced drains will further slow the flow of water and enable the sward to be a more effective buffer. An additional payment is available for this.
Also:
- do not apply pesticides, fertiliser, slurry, farmyard manure or lime to the buffer area
- cultivation within the buffer area must be avoided unless the existing use is arable
- scrub control will only be allowed with the prior written agreement of the Scottish Ministers
- where this Option is being carried out in a field which is in a Nitrates Vulnerable Zone (NVZ), the margin/buffer must start after the 2m margin/buffer on which no fertiliser may be applied in accordance with the Nitrates Action Programme.
Who can apply
All land managers are eligible to apply for this Option.
Eligibility criteria
You can enter improved in-bye (including areas of rush pasture) or arable land surrounding a fen or lowland raised bog under this Option.
Land receiving payments for similar management under other agri-environment schemes is not eligible under this Option.
What costs could be supported
For a comprehensive list of Capital Items click here. Any cost claimed must be fully justified. The following are examples of what may be claimed:
When completing your Proposal, you can select the appropriate capital item(s) from the dropdown list of standard cost capital items for this Option.
In addition to the above capital items, financial support of up to 100% of eligible actual costs is available in respect of the following:
Please note that these capital items will not appear in the dropdown list of Standard Cost capital items for this Option and will need to be entered manually in the box for Actual Cost capital items. Only costs for the types of capital works listed above should be entered in the Actual Cost capital items box for this Option. Any other costs entered cannot be considered for funding.
To ensure value for money we require you to provide 2 competitive quotes for any capital items applied for which are based on actual cost. If, however, you are seeking grant support towards something so specialised it is only available through 1 source then we would accept 1 quote. Please see the guidance on quotes and estimates for more information.
Rate of supportThis is a 5-year commitment. We will pay you £267.90 per hectare per year for land managed under this Option. We will pay at the end of each year.
This is in addition to any habitat specific payment you may get within the flood plain.
Inspections/verification
The inspector will check the requirements (as detailed above under 'what you can do') of the Option are being met, by a visual assessment on the day of inspection.
Beneficiaries must comply with the requirements of cross compliance and the minimum requirements for fertiliser and plant protection products. You must also comply with the requirements to avoid damaging any features of historic or archaeological interest, and follow Scottish Ministers' guidance for the protection of such areas or features (detailed in links below).
The following is a brief overview of the inspection procedures, for a full explanation please see links below:
Inspectors will check:
- Compliance with agreed Management Plan
- The size of the buffer area
- Visual check to ensure no fertiliser/ FYM/Slurry/lime has been applied to the buffer area
- No cultivation has taken place on the buffer, unless the existing uses are arable
- No scrub control on the buffer without prior written agreement from the Scottish Ministers
- Pesticide records to ensure pesticides have not been applied to the site without prior written approval from Scottish Ministers
- Claimed capital items have been completed to approved amounts and scheme standards
List of links to relevant technical guidance