Database

Design buffer strips with stepped edges

Habitat	Function	Type of work
Open space	Living environment, Soil system	Creation of movement / green corridors

Open landscape buffer strips will be established and maintained to maintain biodiversity and ecological connectivity. The buffer strips will also protect other ecosystems from pesticides and chemically synthesised mineral fertilisers used on agricultural land. The recommended width of the open space buffer strips is an average of 5 metres, with an optimum of 1-10 metres.

Description of the action

Leave low trees and shrubs growing in the buffer strips of the open landscape. In doing so, also encourage grasses and short grasses to form a stepped edge. An open landscape buffer strip can also be formed by a grassland-like community with mature grasses.

Why?

Leave a few low trees (e.g. hawthorn, grey alder) and shrubs typical of margins to grow in the buffer strip. The creation of a stepped edge in the buffer strip will provide habitats and movement corridors for a variety of birds and mammals. In addition, it will provide a variety of habitats for plants, fungi and mosses. It is also prudent not to break up the established buffer strips.

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