Biodiversity, environmental and social data 2007-2008 for the project Improving the Success of Agri-environment Schemes (FarmCAT)

This dataset consists of butterfly and bumblebee counts, winter bird counts, number of flowering units, and seed mass data, along with categories of soil type and quality, and temperature data. Data were collected from arable farms under the English Entry Level agri-environment Scheme (ELS) for two options: Nectar Flower Mixture option (NFM) and Wild Bird Seed Mixture (WBM). Surveys were carried out in 2007 and repeated in 2008. All data were collected using standardised protocols: butterfly and bumblebee counts were collected from transects in the NFM options during summer; flowering units were counted within quadrats along the same transects in summer; bird counts were made in winter within the whole WBM areas; seed resource was calculated for the WBM areas from seeds collected in quadrats along transects. The dataset also contains results from farmer interviews. The interviews were designed to explore farmer attitudes towards, and history of, environmental management and their perceptions and understanding of the management requirements. Three measures of farmer attitude were then calculcated from their responses: experience (4-point scale), concerns (5-point scale) and motivation (3-point scale). All data were collected as part of the FarmCAT project, the principal aim of which was to develop a holistic understanding of the social and ecological factors which lead to the successful delivery of agri-environmental schemes. This project was funded as part of the ESRC Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) programme.