AHW4 — Skylark plots

This action’s aim is that there are fallow plots for nesting skylarks within a winter cereal crop, until the crop is harvested in the summer. The purpose of this is to provide skylarks with suitable nesting habitats in winter cereal crops throughout their breeding season.

You can do this action on agricultural land located below the moorland line that’s: - identified by you as not being at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff – you must keep evidence of this - an eligible land type (as defined in section 5.1.1 ‘Eligible land types’ in the SFI26 scheme information) - registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps - declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover You must not do this action on land that’s bounded by tree lines or adjacent to woods, unless the land parcel is larger than 10ha. This is because it increases the risks of predator attack. Eligible land type | Eligible land cover | Compatible land use code Arable land used to grow crops | Arable land | Land use codes for arable crops or leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops Temporary grassland | Arable land | TG01 Arable land lying fallow | Arable land | FA01

During the autumn and winter, you must create fallow plots within a winter cereal crop. For each land parcel where you do this action, there must be at least 2 plots per ha of winter cereal crop you’re growing. For example, if you’re growing 5ha of winter cereal crop in a land parcel, there must be at least 10 plots. You must make sure that the plots are large enough to meet this action’s aim. This will usually mean they need to be at least 3 metres (m) wide and around 16 square m in area. You must retain the fallow plots until the winter cereal crop is harvested in the summer. You must not locate the fallow plots in tramlines, boundaries or margins, as this increases risk of attacks on skylark nests by predators. You can maintain an existing skylark plot to get paid for this action if it: - meets this action’s requirements - is not already being paid for under another environmental land management scheme option, such as Countryside Stewardship option AB4 (skylark plots)

You must do this action each year of its 3-year duration. If this action’s start date means it’s too late to establish the skylark plot, you must do this within 12 months of this action’s start date. In the final year of this action’s duration, you must do this action until the winter cereal crop is harvested, or this action’s end date whichever is earlier.

It’s up to you how you do this action, as long as you: - follow this action’s requirements – these are identified by a ‘must’ - do the action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim You may find it helpful to read the ‘advice to help you do this action’, but it’s not part of this action’s requirements.

You must keep written evidence that land entered into this action is not at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff. You can use the soil management plan you’ve already produced for SFI24 action CSAM1 or SFI23 action SAM1 to identify this. You must keep evidence to show what you’ve done to complete this action, such as: - field operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices - photographs or other documentation If it’s not clear that you’ve done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, we may ask for this evidence. You must supply the evidence if we ask for it.