https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/create-areas-of-bare-ground-for-invertebrates/
Create areas of bare ground for invertebrates
The guidance on this page is for SFI pilot participants only. Please visit GOV.UK for the official Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme guidance.
Find out how land managers can create essential habitat for invertebrates, to increase their numbers and help plant and crop pollination.
If you’re completing this action as part of the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot, how you do it is up to you.
The advice on this page can help you get better environmental and business benefits, but you do not have to follow it to get paid.
Why invertebrates need bare ground
Invertebrates like bees and butterflies need year-round resources like bare ground to complete their lifecycle. Bare ground provides:
- nesting sites for solitary bees and wasps, ants and beetles
- basking areas for butterflies and flies
- hunting ground for beetles
Why invertebrates are important
If invertebrates are thriving then it’s likely that many other species are too. Invertebrates are good indicators of a healthy environment and provide:
- pollination of crops and wild plants
- pest control
- essential food for birds and mammals like hedgehogs, bats and shrews
- soil enrichment
- breakdown of waste like fallen leaves, carrion, decaying timber, dung, and soil residue
- enjoyment to people
Where to create bare ground for invertebrates
You can create bare ground in any location with good sunlight, such as south-facing slopes. Lightly compacted sand or clay soils are best for solitary bees and wasps. The soft surfaces help them to burrow easily.
You can create bare ground on:
- natural banks and slopes
- edges of woods and tracks and paths
- sides of sand pits and quarries
- flatter ground in areas of grassland and heathland
Look for areas you can make open and free of vegetation.
You can increase the benefits for invertebrates by locating bare ground areas near to:
- pollen and nectar sources like flower-rich margins or pollen and nectar plots
- beetle banks
Do not create bare ground on areas that contain historic features. Check if you need consent from Natural England if your land is within a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
How to create bare ground for invertebrates
Bare ground is easy to create. You can do this with machinery like a small excavator, or by hand with a spade. Individual areas don’t need to be large. To attract the widest range of invertebrates you should:
- create several patches in a variety of shapes
- locate the patches in different areas across your land
- clear any vegetation that is shading the patches
On flatter areas you can create several small mounds up to 1 metre high, with south facing curved edges.
Heavy livestock, like cattle or horses, can be used to create areas of bare ground through poaching, especially when it’s wet. Avoid excessive poaching on sensitive areas like species-rich grassland.
You should create bare ground areas in the autumn and winter, when invertebrates will not be nesting.
How to manage bare ground for invertebrates
You will need to manage the bare ground if vegetation becomes established on it, or shades out created areas.
You should:
- check the areas yearly
- remove any vegetation with targeted herbicide in early spring
- manage half the area one year and half the next, so there is always suitable habitat
Avoid using mechanical methods where possible, as machinery can damage nesting colonies. You may need to use machinery if you are creating larger areas of bare ground. If you need to do this make sure that you have a series of unmanaged and managed patches across the area.
During the spring and summer make sure you do not compact bare areas with machinery, livestock or human footfall.
Insecticide and herbicide can kill insects. If you are using them on nearby crops, protect the bare ground areas with a buffer zone, like:
- a strip of harvested or unharvested low-input cereal
- a flower-rich margin
- a pollen and nectar plot
What a successful outcome looks like
You’ll see:
- small blocks of open and bare ground
- areas soft enough for insects to burrow into, to make nesting holes
- bare ground with minimal disturbance or compaction from machinery or heavy livestock
- lots of solitary bees and wasps using the areas
- butterflies basking
