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Convert half of UK farmland to nature, urges top scientist

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THE GUARDIAN reports half of the nation’s farmland needs to be transformed into woodlands and natural habitat to fight the climate crisis and restore wildlife, according to a former chief scientific adviser to the UK government.

Prof Sir Ian Boyd said such a change could mean the amount of cattle and sheep would fall by 90%, with farmers instead being paid for storing carbon dioxide, helping prevent floods and providing beautiful landscapes where people could boost their health and wellbeing. Boyd said the public were subsidising the livestock industry to produce huge environmental damage. 

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Commuting seal and dolphins swimming farther south than ever, wildlife experts say

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The INDEPENDENT reports more jet-skiers, kayakers, boat-trippers and drones are alarming dolphins and seals. Wildlife experts have celebrated “extraordinary” sightings of Scottish bottlenose dolphins off the Yorkshire coast – thought to be the farthest south that they have ever been spotted on the UK’s east coast. They have also discovered a seal “commuting” between the Isle of Man and Cornwall to have pups and search for food. But the discoveries – among the success stories for UK marine life in 2019 – were marred by finding that a greater number of jet skiers, kayakers and boat-trippers, as well as drones, were causing the marine mammals to panic. 

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Red squirrel numbers are rebounding in UK forests as pine martens eat grey squirrel

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inews reports the pine martens live in forests or pockets of forestland, meaning the improvement is only being felt in these areas. Red squirrel numbers have rebounded significantly in parts of the UK in the past decade after years of decline, a new study finds.

The increase in red squirrel numbers has occurred in forested areas, hand in hand with growing pine marten populations, researchers say. That’s because the pine martens are eating the grey squirrels that have largely driven away the red squirrels over the years. 

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Harvest mice surprise researchers with unexpected resurgence after reintroduction 15 years ago

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The Independent reports harvest mice were once common across Europe, but populations have fallen due to modern agricultural techniques. Harvest mice were once common across Europe, but populations have fallen due to modern agricultural techniques.

The UK’s smallest rodent – the harvest mouse – is making an unexpected resurgence in Northumberland 15 years after a reintroduction of the species was believed to have failed. A 2009 survey of the site at the Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s East Chevington reserve turned up nothing, and researchers concluded the 204 harvest mice released in 2004 had not successfully colonised the area. 

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‘Forgotten’ elm tree set to make a comeback

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Elm tree by Spacing Magazine under creative commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode

BBC NEWS reports the elm tree can return to the British countryside, given a helping hand, according to a new report. More than 20 million trees died during the 1960s and 1970s from Dutch elm disease. In the aftermath, the elm was largely forgotten, except among a handful of enthusiasts who have been breeding elite elms that can withstand attack. The research is showing promise and there is reason to be hopeful, said the Future Trees Trust charity.

Report author, Karen Russell, said mature specimens have been identified that are hundreds of years old, and have mysteriously escaped the epidemic. And a new generation of elm seedlings are being bred, which appear to be resistant to the disease. 

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Beavers to be released in plan to ease flooding and aid biodiversity

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The Guardian, The Times, and The Telegraph report three families of beavers are to be introduced on land managed by the National Trust as part of plans to ease flooding and improve biodiversity. Two Eurasian beaver families will be released next spring into enclosures at Holnicote estate on Exmoor, in Somerset, and another group will arrive at Valewood on the Black Down estate, on the border of West Sussex and Surrey.

Beavers were hunted to extinction 400 years ago in the UK for their fur, meat and scent glands. In recent years there has been a series of controlled reintroductions, including one by the government in the Forest of Dean, in Gloucestershire, as solutions are sought to tackle flooding.

Photo by Pat Gaines under Creative Commons.

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‘Failure on pretty much every aspect’: Government condemned as UK set to miss key environmental goals

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The Independent reports ‘As rivers become toxic and countryside becomes devoid of wildlife, the government must be held to account,’ say campaignersThe UK government is set to miss legally binding environment targets in 2020, according to an investigation that found it had failed on “pretty much every aspect” of protecting wildlife and the environment.

Despite promises to prioritise green issues, the UK has made little progress on tackling carbon emissions, air and water pollution, waste and overfishing, as well as increasing tree planting and biodiversity. Boris Johnson promised to “do extraordinary things on the environment”, yet the country’s green credentials are in disrepute, according to the investigation by Greenpeace’s journalism unit Unearthed and the Financial Times. 

Tunnel in trees at Witley Common by Richard August under creative commons.

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‘Insect apocalypse’ poses risk to all life on Earth, conservationists warn

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The GUARDIAN writes report claims 400,000 insect species face extinction amid heavy use of pesticides. The “unnoticed insect apocalypse” should set alarm bells ringing, according to conservationists, who said that without a halt there will be profound consequences for humans and all life on Earth. A new report suggested half of all insects may have been lost since 1970 as a result of the destruction of nature and heavy use of pesticides.

The report said 40% of the 1million known species of insect are facing extinction. The analysis, written by one of the UK’s leading ecologists, has a particular focus on the UK, whose insects are the most studied in the world. It said 23 bee and wasp species have gone extinct in the last century, while the number of pesticide applications has approximately doubled in the last 25 years. 

Photo by zapad1 under creative commons.

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Farmland birds see decline of 55 per cent in the last 50 years, Defra reveals due to lack of hedgerows and use of pesticides

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The Telegraph reports farmland birds have seen a decline of 55 per cent in the last 50 years, Defra has revealed, as a lack of hedgerows and overuse of pesticides are given the blame.

For some birds, farming has been particularly devastating; corn buntings, grey partridges and tree sparrows, all of which are highly dependent on farmland, have experienced declines of more than 90 per cent since 1970.

Turtle doves have seen their numbers halve in the five year period of 2012 to 2017, with long term declines of 98 per cent.

Defra has been monitoring 19 species of farmland birds, and has found that over the shorter term the fall has been less drastic – bird numbers overall fell by 6 per cent between 2012-17.