Associations between abundances of free-roaming gamebirds and common buzzards Buteo buteo are not driven by consumption of gamebirds in the buzzard breeding season

Releasing gamebirds in large numbers for sport shooting may directly or indirectly influence the abundance, distribution and population dynamics of native wildlife. The abundances of generalist predators have been positively associated with the abundance of gamebirds. These relationships have implications for prey populations, with the potential for indirect impacts of gamebird releases on wider biodiversity. To understand the basis of these associations, we investigated variation in territory size, prey provisioning to chicks, and breeding success of common buzzards Buteo buteo, and associations with variation in the abundances of free- roaming gamebirds, primarily pheasants Phasianus colchicus, and of rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus and field voles Microtus agrestis, as important prey for buzzards. The relative abundance of game-birds, but not those of rabbits or voles, was weakly but positively correlated with our index of buzzard territory size. Gamebirds were rarely brought to the nest. Rabbits and voles, and not gamebirds, were provisioned to chicks in proportion to their relative abundance. The number of buzzard chicks increased with provisioning rates of rabbits, in terms of both provisioning frequency and biomass, but not with provisioning rates for gamebirds or voles. Associations between the abundances of buzzards and gamebirds may not be a consequence of the greater availability of gamebirds as prey during the buzzard breeding season. Instead, the association may arise either from habitat or predator management leading to higher densities of alternative prey (in this instance, rabbits), or from greater availability of gamebirds as prey or carrion during the autumn and winter shooting season. The interactions between gamebird releases and associated practices of predator control and shooting itself require better understanding to more effectively intervene in any one aspect of this complex social-ecological system

Climate, landscape, habitat, and woodland management associations with hazel dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius population status

Although strictly protected, populations of the hazel dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius in the UK declined by 72% from 1993 to 2014. Using National Dormouse Monitoring Programme data from 300 sites throughout England and Wales, we investigated variation in hazel dormouse population status (expressed as Indices of Abundance, Breeding, and population Trend) in relation to climate, landscape, habitat, and woodland management. Dormice were more abundant and produced more litters on sites with warmer, sunnier springs, summers, and autumns. Dormouse abundance was also higher on sites with consistently cold local climate in winter. Habitat connectivity, woodland species composition, and active site management were all correlated with greater dormouse abundance and breeding. Abundances were also higher on sites with successional habitats, whereas the abundance of early successional bramble Rubus fruticosus habitat, woodland area, and landscape connectivity were important for population stability. Diversity in the structure of woodlands in Europe has decreased over the last 100 years, and the habitats we found to be associated with more favourable dormouse status have also been in decline. The conservation status of the hazel dormouse, and that of woodland birds and butterflies, may benefit from reinstatement or increased frequency of management practices, such as coppicing and glade management, that maintain successional and diverse habitats within woodland

Multi-tier archetypes to characterise British landscapes, farmland and farming practices

Due to rising demand for both food and environmental services, agriculture is increasingly required to deliver multiple outcomes. Characterising differences, across agricultural landscapes, via the identification of broad archetypal groupings, is an important step in exploring spatial patterns in the capacity of land to deliver these potentially competing functions. Creating characterisations at multiple levels, for landscape and farm management, can allow policy-makers and land managers to harmonise delivery of ecosystem services at different intervention scales. This can identify ways to increase the complementarity of public goods and the sustainability of farmed landscapes. We used data-driven machine learning to create landscape and agricultural management archetypes (1 km resolution) at three levels, defined by opportunities for adaptation. Tier 1 archetypes quantify broad differences in soil, land cover and population across Great Britain, which cannot be readily influenced by the actions of land managers; Tier 2 archetypes capture more nuanced variations within farmland-dominated landscapes of Great Britain, over which land managers may have some degree of influence. Tier 3 archetypes are built at national levels for England and Wales and focus on socioeconomic and agro-ecological characteristics within farmland-dominated landscapes, characterising differences in farm management. By using a non-nested hierarchy, we identified which types of management are restricted to certain landscape settings, and which are applicable across multiple landscape contexts. Understanding variation within and between agricultural landscapes and farming practices has implications for planning environmental sustainability and food security. It can also aid understanding of the scale at which interventions could be most effective, from incentivising changes in farmer behaviour to policy drivers of large-scale land use change