Putting applied ecology into practice

Higher-tier agri-environment scheme enhances breeding densities of some priority farmland birds in England

“…Advisory support for HLS agreements typically involves initial site visits and consultation over option selection and management but with limited subsequent advice and support, and is considerably less than for the targeted, single-species recovery programmes. Memmott et al (2010) highlighted the need for adaptive management approaches and more replicated field studies testing ecological management interventions over multiple sites. Here, we test the hypothesis that farm-scale HLS land management can positively affect the population growth of priority farmland bird species in the absence of a species recovery project and with a modest level of advisory support (which under HLS is usually restricted to the application stage).…”

PRACTITIONER'S PERSPECTIVE: Bridging the gap between applied ecological science and practical implementation in peatland restoration

“…Memmott et al . () strongly advocate this approach as well as more interdisciplinary research. This would provide great opportunities for assessing and extending results of randomized controlled trials from the population studied to the wider context (Cartwright ).…”

“…As Memmott et al . () point out, there is inadequate research testing many management recommendations in the field and this results in the offered management solutions for particular circumstances falling far short of the ideal.…”

Interactions between human behaviour and ecological systems

“…However, it is also widely acknowledged that AM has not percolated into conservation practice, despite its strong appeal to academic researchers [68,69]. This is partly because of the additional costs involved, and the inherent risks of experimentation, but also because there is still a strong divide between practitioners and academics [70]. Knight et al [71] found that two-thirds of conservation assessments in the peer-reviewed scientific literature did not deliver conservation action, primarily because researchers never planned for implementation of their findings.…”