Case Study 1A - Winter Cereals (UK)

Cumulative exposure of wildlife to plant protection products (PPP) in an agricultural system (winter cereals)

Institutions: UKCEH, UCLM

CS Coordinators: David Surgeon, Stephen Short, Melanie Gibbs, Rafael Mateo, Manuel Ortiz-Santaliestra

  • Objectives / Hypothesis

Assess how landscape mitigation schemes applied in an arable farm protect wildlife from pesticide impacts.

  • Description of the case study

CS 1A uses detailed information on plant protection products (PPP) use in winter cereals and other farming operations collected over 25 years. It presents implemented risk mitigation measures without insecticides and the creation of key habitats (e.g. field margins).

Case Study Goal

  • Exposure assessment - Plant protection products (PPP) residues in plants, soils and invertebrates associated with the implemented risk mitigation measures

  • Effect assessment - Gene expression biomarkers, to link with sublethal apical effects (e.g. growth)

  • Biodiversity monitoring - Diversity of invertebrate community via metabarcoding (DNA barcoding) and of avian community via avian data from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)

  • Species

Communities involving species like…

  • Moths – Agrochola lychnidis

  • Butterflies – Pieris napi and Maniola tithonus

  • Spiders – Pisaura mirabilis and Pardosa amentata

  • Common plants in field margins e.g., Poa trivialis and Vicia sativa

All of them are considered non-target.

  • Involved stakeholders

  1. Farmers and farm managers, including associations of consultants to support sustainable agriculture

  2. RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) and other nature protection-related entities (BTO, Butterfly Conservation...)

  3. Joint Nature Conservation Committee (public, advisory body on nature conservation)

  • Locations

Description: Hope Farm 

  • 180 ha, mostly arable

  • owned by the RSPB since 1999