Operation Pollinator: Positive Action for Pollinators and Improved Biodiversity on Farm

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 121-125
Author(s):  
Peter Sutton
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Sustainable Intensification ◽  
Farmland Birds ◽  
Positive Action ◽  
Farm Scale ◽  
Public Money ◽  
The Uk ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Selection Of

Operation Pollinator is an industry led initiative. This biodiversity enhancement programme has enabled better engagement and training of farmers in the delivery of high quality wildlife habitats as part of their national agri-environment schemes (AES). This overview presents findings from farm-scale studies that have shown the type and scale of effects required to deliver such benefits on farm and across the landscape. Significant efforts have already been made to promote biodiversity on farmland, but these results show that to improve the agricultural landscape really, we need to implement more of the best options so as to achieve the scale required to underpin the delivery of ecosystem services. The UK is still transitioning from the old Agricultural Policy Scheme (CAP) scheme, and so it will still be possible to use this type of off-crop mitigation to protect wildlife and ecosystem services in future AES, and this strategy has been described as using "public money for public goods" or "payment for ecosystem services. The EU has proposed that farmers manage 5–7% of the landscape in this way and field margins are a critical mechanism for such farmland biodiversity programmes. The results presented are from a selection of farm scale studies (i.e. with plots of 40 ha – 100 ha) that were large enough to provide indications of the scale of implementation required as targeted AES measures to benefit both farmland birds and pollinators. This review is based on an earlier paper that was presented at a conference on "Sustainable Intensification" organised by the Association of Applied Biologists in 2016. Ref: Aspects of Applied Biology 136, 2017 Sustainable Intensification p120–129 Operation Pollinator: Positive action for pollinators and improved biodiversity in arable landscapes, Peter Sutton, Geoff Coates, Belinda Bailey, Marek Nowakowski, Mike Edwards, Robin Blake, Ben Woodcock, Claire Carvell & Richard Pywell.

A Court of Specialists

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Hanretty
Keyword(s):  
Family Law ◽  
Public Law ◽  
Tax Law ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Main Argument ◽  
Political Differences ◽  
Uk Supreme Court ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Initial Selection ◽  
Selection Of

This book explains how judges on the UK Supreme Court behave. It looks at different stages in the court's decision-making process—from the initial selection of cases, to the choice of judges to sit on panels, to the final outcome. The main argument of the book is that judges' behavior is strongly affected by their specialism in different areas of law. Cases in tax law (or family law, or public law) are more likely to be heard by specialists in that area, and those specialists are more likely to write the court's decision—or disagree with the decision when there is dissent. Legal factors like specialization in areas of law explains more of the court's work than do political differences between judges.

Financing on-farm ecosystem services in southern Quebec, Canada: A public call for pesticides reduction

2021 ◽  
Vol 184 ◽  
pp. 106997
Author(s):  
Ann Lévesque ◽  
Charlène Kermagoret ◽  
Thomas G. Poder ◽  
Chloé L'Ecuyer-Sauvageau ◽  
Jie He ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
On Farm

When is positive action not positive action? Exploring the conceptual meaning and implications of the tie-break criterion in the UK Equality Act 2010

2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Johns ◽  
Sara MacBride-Stewart ◽  
Martin Powell ◽  
Alison Green
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Support ◽  
Equality Of Opportunity ◽  
Equal Opportunities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Action ◽  
Legal Innovation ◽  
Positive Discrimination ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Conceptual Meaning ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the claim that the tie-break criterion introduced under the Equality Act 2010 is not really positive action as is claimed by its government sponsors. It evaluates this claim by locating the tie-break into equal opportunities theory, taking into account merit considerations, and reviews its potential implications. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual discussion of the tie-break. Findings – The paper concludes that the tie-break is not positive action, nor is it positive discrimination. It employs the framework established by Forbes (1991) and attempts to locate it in theoretical discussions of the need to refine merit to take identity characteristics into account. While it could serve to make a more sophisticated approach to merit possible it fails to achieve its implicit potential in this regard. Research limitations/implications – The paper is conceptual and will benefit from empirical support in the future. Practical implications – Practically, the tie-break promises to add some greater clarity to the muddled understanding of equal opportunities and diversity that underpins much policy and legislation. As a result it will arguably prove hard to implement and will carry other associated problems. Social implications – Socially, the tie-break, mis-represented as it currently is, promises to create greater uncertainty around the nature and purposes of equality of opportunity. Consequently, it could exacerbate tensions and hostilities and promote significant resistance to “equality” measures. Originality/value – This paper is an original conceptual piece that will shine a light on an important legal innovation. The tie-break is not what it is described to be and carries both potential and threat for advocates of equality of opportunity. In pursuing socially significant outcomes of this type, conceptual accuracy and transparency are vital, and this paper contributes to this endeavour.

The Hidden Half: Linking microbial communities to habitat condition and vegetation management in UK blanket bogs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Burn ◽  
Andreas Heinemeyer ◽  
Thorunn Helgason ◽  
David Glaves ◽  
Michael Morecroft
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Vegetation Management ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Habitat Condition ◽  
Blanket Bog ◽  
The Uk

<p>Peatlands are globally valued for the ecosystem services they deliver, including water quality regulation and carbon sequestration. In the UK, blanket bogs are the main peatland habitat and previous work has linked blanket bog management, especially rotational burning of heather vegetation on grousemoors, to impacts on these ecosystem services. However, we still lack a mechanistic, process-level understanding of how peatland management and habitat status is linked to ecosystem service provision, which is mostly driven by soil microbial processes.</p><p>Here we examine bacterial and fungal communities across a spectrum of “intact” to degraded UK blanket bogs and under different vegetation management strategies. Sites included grousemoors under burnt and alternative mown or uncut management along with further locations including 'near intact', degraded and restored sites across a UK climatic gradient ranging from Exmoor (South UK), the Peak District (Mid) to the Flow Country (North). Moreover, an experiment was setup at the University of York with peat mesocosms taken from all sites and management/habitat conditions to allow a comparison between field and controlled conditions and assessing root-mediated processes. Using a structural equation model, we linked grousemoor management to specific fungal/bacterial functional groups, and have started to relate this to changes in water quality provision and carbon cycle aspects. This represents a significant step in the effort to use microbial communities as indicators of peatland habitat condition in UK upland blanket bogs. </p><p> </p>

scholarly journals Selection of foraging habitat and diet of the Hoopoe Upupa epops in the mosaic-like cultural landscape of Goričko (NE Slovenia)

Acrocephalus ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (166-167) ◽  
pp. 109-132
Author(s):  
Mojca Podletnik ◽  
Damijan Denac
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Foraging Habitat ◽  
Convex Polygons ◽  
Upupa Epops ◽  
Mole Crickets ◽  
Selection Of

In 2012 and 2013, the selection of foraging habitats and the diet of the Hoopoe Upupa epops were studied in the Goričko area, where a significant population decline of the species has been recorded in the past 15 years. Goričko is an area with a well-preserved traditional mosaic-like agricultural landscape very rich in biodiversity which, however, is disappearing. The diet was determined using automatic camera recordings of prey brought to chicks by parents. Mole crickets Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa were the most dominant prey (35.4% frequency and 81.3% biomass of prey), followed by Scarab beetles larvae Scarabaeidae, caterpillars Lepidoptera larvae and True flies Diptera. Feeding frequency was highest in the period of most intensive chick growth (between 8 and 21 days of age). Selection of foraging habitat was researched by observation of birds during foraging. Hoopoes foraged mostly in mown meadows and grassy courtyards and, to a lesser extent, on sandy cart tracks and road edges. These habitats were characterized by low vegetation and patches of bare ground that enabled Hoopoes to forage efficiently. Home range size was determined using minimum convex polygons. The maximum home range size was between 42.9 and 57.7 ha, while the percentage of foraging habitats within the home range did not exceed 18%. Based on our results, we propose the following measures for effective Hoopoe conservation in the area: maintaining the present range of existing unimproved meadows, stopping the conversion of meadows into fields, restoring fields to meadows, prohibiting the use of pesticides targeting Mole crickets.

Fifty years ago: ‘Height, Weight and Obesity in an Industrial Population’

2020 ◽  
pp. 146-147
Author(s):  
R.W. Howell
Keyword(s):  
Atomic Energy ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Selection Of

This series provides a selection of articles from the past. In Fifty years ago: ‘Height, Weight and Obesity in an Industrial Population’ R.W. Howell briefly explores the relationship between obesity and sickness from work, looking at a sample from the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s establishment at Windscale and Calder, in Cumberland.

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