Requirements
Strip width and length
at least 12 m wide, maximum permitted width 36 m
Site and soil conditions:
- dry to normal
- preferably sunny
Costs:
Yield loss
Machinery requirements:
No additional
Implementation period:
February – July/October
Implementation
step-by-step instruction
1. Site selection
Suitable are
- maize fields
- A minimum distance of 100 metres from taller structures, such as trees and buildings, as well as roads and paths
Not suitable are:
- Locations with larger occurrences of problem weeds such as couch grass or creeping thistle
Size
- at least 12 m wide, maximum permitted width 36 m
Implementation
- Early tillage of the maize field by 31 March
- Sowing of summer cereals at double row spacing from March onwards; sowing of maize on the surrounding field in April–May
- No use of rodenticides, herbicides or insecticides on the strip; mechanical weed control only following a conservation assessment
- After 31 July, the strip can be harvested; no whole-plant harvest; leave the stubble fallow over the winter or plough it under from 15 October
- Rotation from year to year as part of crop rotation
- For large fields, create several strips
Rotation mit Erbsenfenstern
- Farmland bird strips are established in maize fields for a period of one year at a time. As the maize is grown in a different field on the farm each year, the location of the farmland bird strips also changes annually. To ensure that farmland birds still have a continuous supply of food and breeding sites, pea patches can be established on this plot the following year.
Ecological impact
Farmland bird strips are specifically tailored to the needs of the skylark. Skylarks breed on the ground and, to do so, require open meadows, fields or fallow land with an abundance of insects and an unobstructed view to spot predators. Where these conditions are met, they breed from April to August, producing two to three consecutive broods. Since 1970, skylark populations in Germany have declined by up to 90 per cent. This is due to the disappearance of meadows and fallow land, and to the fact that the fields are mainly planted with crops (maize, rapeseed, winter cereals) which, in summer, grow too tall and too densely for skylarks to breed. Consequently, in many regions, the skylark can now only breed once in the spring, when arable crops are still low and sparse. However, this is not sufficient to maintain a stable skylark population. In field bird strips, skylarks find suitable breeding habitats well into the summer.
„The importance of structural diversity on agricultural land is also evident from the extensive use of farmland bird strips by skylarks. Compared with maize, and also with maize-runner bean mixtures, almost five times as many skylarks were observed on the farmland bird strips.“ (F.R.A.N.Z Zwischenbilanz 2023)
However, farmlandd bird strips also provide suitable breeding and foraging opportunities for other animals found in the countryside, such as the western yellow wagtail, the corn bunting, the European hamster and the brown hare. They are beneficial to the European hamster, as they enable it to survive years when the crop is unsuitable for this species, or to use them as guide and connecting routes to more suitable fields. Furthermore, stubble is not ploughed until 15 October at the earliest, which enhances the attractiveness of these strips as foraging habitats for the European hamster. The farmland bird strips can also contribute to habitat connectivity and support the colonisation of further arable land, as they provide good cover for the European hamster for a long time due to the late stubble ploughing.
Additional information (Mostly in German)
- virtuelle 3D-Tour zu Feldvogelstreifen (in Deutsch und Englisch), Stiftung Kulturlandschaft Sachsen-Anhalt
- Video zu Feldvogelstreifen, F.R.A.N.Z-Projekt
- Maßnahmenblatt Feldvogelstreifen, Stiftung Kulturlandschaft Sachsen-Anhalt
- Internetseite mit Informationen zu Feldvogelstreifen, Stiftung Kulturlandschaft Sachsen-Anhalt
- Merkblatt Kooperativer Naturschutz in der Agrarlandschaft (Sachsen-Anhalt), Stand 13.3.2025
- Maßnahmenblatt Feldvogelstreifen (F.R.A.N.Z.-Projekt)
- F.R.A.N.Z-Zwischenbilanz
Der Feldvogelstreifen ist eine Maßnahme, die im F.R.A.N.Z-Projekt (2016-2026) entwickelt wurde. Sie ist bisher nicht in Förderprogrammen verankert. In Sachsen-Anhalt wird sie aber von der Stiftung Kulturlandschaft Sachsen-Anhalt erfolgreich als Ausgleichs- und Ersatzmaßnahme zur Förderung von Feldvögeln eingesetzt.
