Simple farmland features can reverse butterfly declines

Butterflies are slipping away from the British countryside. Yet hope may lie in some of its most familiar sights: thorny hedges, pocket-sized woods, even a single oak in the middle of a field.

A new study led by the University of Oxford and Butterfly Conservation shows that these modest features can lift butterfly numbers in ordinary farmland.

This gives species such as the Speckled Wood and Meadow Brown a fighting chance just as national counts have hit historic lows.

A ten-year countryside snapshot

The research team mined ten years of records from the Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey, in which volunteers stroll one-kilometer routes around farmland and record every butterfly they see.

Altogether, they analyzed more than a thousand routes scattered across England. They then matched each one to habitat maps that reach three kilometers in every direction.

Wherever hedgerows, groves, or field trees took up more space on that map, the counts rose. The pattern was clearest in arable regions where otherwise tidy fields leave few wild corners.

Dr. Ruth Feber, lead author of the study, pointed out numbers told only part of the story.

“As well as demonstrating the importance of trees and hedgerows for biodiversity on farmland, our results also highlighted the relatively lower numbers of butterflies on intensively managed grassland compared to arable land,” said Dr. Feber.

Those silage pastures, cut and fertilized for maximum yield, now cover more than a quarter of the country. Even small changes in how they are managed could tip the scales for wildlife.

Farmers want to help, and need support

The scientists also spoke with 31 farmers who manage land near the survey squares. Most recognized the upside of hedges and shade trees – from sheltering livestock to soaking up floodwater.

But nearly expressed concern about the cost and commitment of planting, trimming, and replacing them. That tension sits at the heart of the study.

“It is clear that farmers recognize the importance of these crucial habitats,” noted Dr. Feber. “But they need to be supported. We need to recognize that these trees and hedgerows provide public goods which benefit wildlife and people.”

She noted that agri-environment payments must stretch beyond basic prescriptions and cover the true expense of keeping woody features healthy for decades. Otherwise, good intentions can wither the moment grain prices tighten.

Farmland hedges are butterfly highways

Hedges do more than mark a boundary. Their tangled branches serve as food plants for caterpillars and provide adult butterflies with a buffet of nectar. Thick growth breaks the wind, allowing butterflies to warm up and fly on cooler days.

Above all, lines of woody cover act as green corridors, guiding insects from one flower-rich patch to another so that no colony becomes isolated.

That highway network is exactly what common butterflies need right now. Fresh figures show that 2024 ranks among the worst years on record. For the first time, more than half of U.K. species have slipped into long-term decline.

“We know that butterflies are in desperate trouble, including our common countryside species. Butterflies are important indicators of wider biodiversity, so actions that help butterflies will also help other declining wildlife,” said Dr. Feber.

“With 70 percent of the U.K.’s land area being farmland, our farmers and landowners play a vital role in helping these species recover, through protecting and restoring hedgerows and trees.”

Farming with butterflies in mind

Dr. Feber’s group is already probing one promising route. At Northfield Farm near Oxford, cattle are moved daily in a “mob grazing” system that leaves each paddock to regrow for weeks.

“My current project is investigating regenerative farming, which uses livestock grazing and other practices to help promote soil health and increase soil carbon,” said Dr. Feber.

“This is receiving increasing attention as an approach to grassland management that might contribute to tackling some climate impacts of agriculture.”

Dr. Feber added that more research is needed on how this may impact biodiversity, particularly above-ground invertebrate groups, such as butterflies, moths, and other pollinators.

Early surveys will track whether butterflies bounce back when lush grass is replaced by more varied, flower-rich swards.

“In this system, areas of land are grazed for a short period of time before the cattle are moved on and the pasture allowed to recover,” Dr. Feber said.

Butterflies need better farmland

The study’s message is disarmingly simple: keep – or better yet, expand – the scruffy, butterfly-friendly edges of Britain’s farmlands. A single thorn hedge or an untidy willow clump can be enough to connect the dots for butterflies.

For farmers, the next step is clear financial backing that rewards the effort year after year. For policymakers, it means seeing hedges and field trees as green infrastructure every bit as vital as roads and drains.

Butterflies respond quickly; give them corridors and they will return. The countryside may look pared to the bone, but its recovery could begin with nothing fancier than a line of hawthorn left to bloom or a young oak allowed to stand. Recognizing that these small gestures stitch life back into the land is the first step.

The study is published in the journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence.

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