Practical methods for the control of tor-grass (Brachypodium pinnatum s.l.) and the restoration of calcareous grassland

Calcareous grasslands are sites of high conservation value across Western Europe; however, they are increasingly threatened by the dominance of a native competitive grass, Brachypodium pinnatum, which reduces the diversity of the grassland. Despite this, there is no clear consensus on the most effective method for controlling B. pinnatum and restoring the grassland community. We established two experiments at a calcareous grassland of high nature conservation value in the UK, i) a herbicide spraying experiment with seeding and ii) a seasonal cut-and-graze experiment, to investigate the potential for reducing dense B. pinnatum cover and preventing further expansion of sparse cover, respectively. We examined the effect of different herbicide and cut-and-graze treatments on B. pinnatum cover, and on the species richness and diversity of the grassland over three consecutive years. Herbicide spraying reduced the cover of B. pinnatum, though two spray applications led to a greater reduction longer-term. Species richness and diversity initially declined with the herbicide spray, however this recovered rapidly to levels higher than before spraying commenced. Seeding the spray plots was beneficial for the establishment of Bromopsis erecta and potentially reduced the likelihood of re-colonisation by B. pinnatum and undesirable arable species. The cut-and-graze experiment also showed promising potential in terms of controlling the spread of B. pinnatum. Compared with a single cut in the spring or autumn, cutting and grazing twice, in both spring and autumn was found to reduce the cover of B. pinnatum, whilst also increasing species richness and diversity. Further monitoring is needed to determine the long-term effectiveness of this management treatment

Crossing Eurasia: trans-regional Afghan trading networks in China and beyond

An expanding body of literature in the field of Central Asian studies has brought attention to the problems of considering the region's complex dynamics through the lens of its nation-states. Comparatively less attention has been paid to the role played by trans-regional circulations in connecting parts of Central Asia to the wider world. This paper situates ethnographic work on trans-regional networks of Afghan traders in China, Central Asia, Russia, Ukraine and the UK in relation to the literature on trans-regional connections and circulation societies. Ethnographically it demonstrates the multi-polar nature of these trans-regional networks, and the importance of trading nodes, especially the Chinese city of Yiwu, to their formation and ongoing vitality

Landscape-scale species monitoring of agri-environment schemes (LandSpAES project). Final project report, 2022

In this project, we applied a novel, pseudo-experimental design in order to collect a baseline survey dataset of the responses of mobile taxa to local and landscape AES gradients over four years, from 54 survey squares across six regions (NCAs) in England. This is the first project to monitor the responses of multiple mobile taxa to generalised AES gradients across large spatial extents, which were applied to arable, grassland and upland agricultural systems, in order specifically to address impacts beyond AES option or agreement boundaries. This baseline dataset supported a spatial assessment of relationships between the AES gradients and taxon abundance (or activity), species richness and diversity. Strong evidence for relationships with local and / or landscape AES gradients were found for one or more response variable for butterflies, moths and bats. Little or no evidence of AES gradient relationships were found for either bees or hoverflies and weak evidence for associations with bird metrics. A future resurvey would allow analyses of the longer-term changes in target taxa in response to AES management, against this baseline. The identification of various spatial relationships is encouraging in terms of the likely power to detect AES effects on biodiversity change in the future