High Nature Value (HNV) farmland is agricultural land that supports biodiversity and can be identified by its environmentally sound farming practices. New research on bird biodiversity on French HNV farmland has concluded that conservation of HNV farmland is important as well as conserving areas that were previously HNV and have undergone recent agricultural intensification.

According to new research, several areas of the Antarctic are at considerable risk from the establishment of 'alien' plants accidentally carried by visitors to the region. The findings demonstrate that invasive species pose risks even in remote areas and that these risks are likely to increase as the climate changes.

New research has outlined a four-step approach to multipurpose wetland creation or restoration: clarifying the objectives, defining the scale and analysing possible conflicts, before finally defining a strategy.

The way in which agricultural land is managed can cause environmental changes that affect biodiversity and the services provided by ecosystems. A new study suggests agri-environmental schemes that focus on restoring common weeds, such as thistles, buttercups and clover, could have wide-ranging benefits as these plants appear to help stabilise the supportive links between different species found in farmlands.

Converting grassland to arable land can reduce the diversity of nematodes, predatory mites, earthworms and enchytraeid worms in the soil, according to a study by Dutch researchers. However, they found that restoring arable land to grassland did not fully restore the diversity of these four groups during the course of the four-year study.

Intensive agriculture is widely recognised as a major cause of declining farmland bird populations. New research has identified which aspects of agricultural intensification are most damaging to farmland bird numbers, examining bird populations at seven farmland sites across Europe. The researchers found that simplified landscapes created by intensive agriculture reduced bird numbers at the sites.

Climate change could alter the species diversity of an important type of polar bacterial community, according to laboratory tests. At temperatures similar to those forecasted using current climate warming rates, researchers observed an increase in toxin-producing bacteria that could alter freshwater polar ecosystems.

It is possible to balance agricultural production with improved biodiversity on farmland, according to researchers. A new study suggests using a combination of land sharing techniques, which enhance biodiversity on existing farmland, with land separation techniques, which designate separate areas for conservation and farmland production.

Leaving land to return to its wild state could be beneficial for abandoned farmland, according to a new study. The researchers argue that 'rewilding' provides valuable ecosystem benefits and in certain cases could be a more achievable goal than maintaining traditional agriculture in areas of Europe where rural populations are declining.

Reducing the extinction risk to all threatened bird species by at least one category on the IUCN Red List by 2020 would cost US$0.875 - 1.23 billion (???0.671-0.94) per year, according to a recent study. To achieve this level of support would require an additional US$0.769 ??? 1.08 (???0.59- 0.82) billion per year over and above existing conservation funding for threatened birds.

Careful choice of tree species and sites could transform plantations into refuges for woodland plant diversity, new research from Ireland suggests. Plantations of native species on or near historic woodland and those with adequate light levels below the tree canopy were found to support more plant species.

Future decades could see shifts in phytoplankton populations, leading to less diversity among phytoplankton strains in increasingly warm tropical oceans, researchers predict. These microorganisms play an important role in regulating the Earth's climate.

Researchers have presented their proposal for a global monitoring method to quickly detect small changes in bee populations, which could pre-warn of large-scale drops in pollination activity. Implementing the method could be a cost-effective way to ensure a sustainable food supply, according to the authors of the new study.

The ecological impacts of micro wind turbines (up to 50 kW) are treated in a diverse way by different local authorities in the UK during the planning approval process, research suggests. The study calls for ecologists, policymakers, planners and industry representatives to improve the integration of ecological information within planning, and for greater guidance for local authorities on the ecological considerations of micro-turbines.

'Bet-hedging' behaviour among farmers, who diversify land use to avoid investing in a single land use that might fail, can boost farmland biodiversity, a new study suggests. However, because historical data show this is not the most frequent strategy used by farmers, balancing environmental and economic concerns in agriculture may still require public policy instruments, such as subsidies or taxes.

Richer countries have more resources for gathering biodiversity information, creating a biased view of the worlds' species and their distribution. However, a new study argues that there are other reasons why some countries are underrepresented in global biodiversity databases, with low numbers of English speakers, large distances from the database host and low security acting as key barriers to data collection.

Biodiversity could play a key role in preventing future outbreaks of malaria in tropical forests, according to a new study. Results indicate that a greater number of mosquito species could increase competition for mosquitoes that spread malarial parasites, whilst more vertebrate species could increase the likelihood that malarial parasites end up in 'dead-end hosts' that are unable to transmit the disease any further.

Since the 1990s, rates of biodiversity loss of wild plants and their insect pollinators have slowed down in north-west Europe, according to a recent study. It is likely that conservation activities, such as agri-environmental schemes, have contributed to this improving situation.

Constructed wetlands can regulate stormwater flows and improve water quality, helping humans to adapt to a changing climate. New research has now shown that, if carefully designed, they can also be used for climate change mitigation by storing carbon, while also providing biodiversity and cultural ecosystem services.

Using plastic sheeting to encourage early growth of crops reduces the number and diversity of farmland birds, new research from Poland suggests. The study shows that this effect continues even after plastic has been removed.

Tourists would be willing to pay for increased biodiversity and reduced clear-felling in forests, a recent Finnish case study suggests. In a survey of over 900 visitors to Lapland, most stated that they felt landscape quality and biodiversity were important, and that they would be happy to pay their share for preserving these qualities.

Wet grasslands abandoned less than 40 years ago can be successfully restored within a decade, a recent analysis suggests. By examining the findings of a range of studies, it identified the causes and consequences of abandonment and the key factors in successful restoration.

The value of moving animals or plants from a stable population into one that is endangered or even extinct has been questioned, with some suggesting that it will mean that the new population is not well adapted to its environment. However, research on an endangered toad has shown that even when individuals were translocated from great distances, the population was able to genetically adapt to local conditions within a few generations.

The value of moving animals or plants from a stable population into one that is endangered or even extinct has been questioned, with some suggesting that it will mean that the new population is not well adapted to its environment. However, research on an endangered toad has shown that even when individuals were translocated from great distances, the population was able to genetically adapt to local conditions within a few generations.

The damaging impacts of the invasive alien plant, the giant hogweed, decline over time, new research from the Czech Republic has concluded. Although this plant initially reduces the native species richness of the grasslands it colonises, the study found that numbers of native species increased again in sites that had been colonised by hogweed for 40 years or longer.

The drying of soils under global warming could disrupt the balance of nutrients in large areas of the Earth's land surface, according to new research. The study focused on ‘drylands' – arid areas with low levels of rainfall – which support over 38%% of the world's population. Such nutrient imbalances could diminish the provision of ecosystem services, such as food production and carbon storage, the researchers say.

Two thirds of natural areas in the Netherlands suffer from at least one of four key environmental pressures including nitrogen pollution, drying, acidification and habitat fragmentation, a new study suggests. Possible solutions to enable the country to meet its commitments under the EU's biodiversity targets include moves towards sustainable farming and reduction of nitrogen outputs, the researchers conclude.

Endangered Mediterranean seabirds are suffering from ingestion of plastic litter, a recent study has shown. Overall, 66% of 171 seabirds studied were found to have plastic fragments in their stomachs and the critically endangered Balearic shearwater was among the worst affected.

Crayfish plague, spread by invasive North American crayfish, is currently devastating native European populations. However, while the disease is commonly diagnosed on the basis of diseased animals, free-living infective spores can contaminate water bodies. In the first study to test detection techniques for this disease in natural waterways, researchers found that invasive signal crayfish release low levels of plague spores, allowing it to spread undetected.

Microplastic pollution impairs the heath of the marine worms that help maintain sediments for other creatures, new research suggests. This study shows that the energy reserves of lugworms living in sediment contaminated with microplastic particles were reduced by up to 50%.

Acidification of water bodies can have substantial impacts on aquatic wildlife, and even after chemical conditions improve, biological recovery may lag behind. A study of Swedish lakes shows that, although their chemical quality has improved as a result of international reductions of acidifying emissions, biological recovery has been much slower in some lakes.

New research from central Italy shows that high nature value farmland in the region can be accurately identified by the presence of just four bird species. Once such groups of species have been identified for different regions, they can provide a quick and inexpensive tool for assessing the ecological value of farmland, the researchers say.

Although cities are typically low in biodiversity, they can provide important refuges for native species, new research shows. Urban planning making use of green infrastructure can enhance city habitats and may help reduce the loss of biodiversity that follows urban expansion, the researchers say.

Planting early-flowering crops, such as oilseed rape, boosts the numbers of bumblebees available to pollinate late-flowering crops, such as sunflowers, according to recent research. Carefully managing the timing and coverage of flowering crops in the landscape could therefore ensure pollination services and increase yields, say the researchers.

Conservation partnerships that span geographic, biological and administrative boundaries are needed to deal with many global environmental problems. However, there are challenges to managing these complex, large-scale programmes that involve many partners and stakeholders. A new study examines the nature of these challenges and identifies the factors that lead to partnership success.

Nine areas in the Atlantic where leatherback turtles are at higher risk of bycatch have been identified in a recent study. To help protect this important species less damaging fishing practices could be used in these areas, the study concludes, and some could be candidates for marine protected status.

Costs of defending protected areas from poaching and other illegal activities could be reduced through spatial planning software, finds a new study. Using the tool, the researchers devised new patrol activities in central Africa which would reduce current costs of law enforcement by 35%, as well as providing more effective protection.

Pieces of plastic litter outnumber fish larvae in the Austrian Danube River, new research has found. This is worrying, as some fish are likely to mistake the plastic for the prey they would normally feed on. This litter may also contribute to marine pollution; the researchers estimated that at least 4.2 tonnes of plastic debris enter the Black Sea via the Danube every day.

The pollination benefits of planting field margins with wildflowers can outweigh the costs of set-up and maintenance, a new study suggests. On US blueberry farms wildflower strips resulted in double the number of wild bees on adjacent crops and significantly increased yield, the researchers found.

National bird conservation policies implemented in Eastern Europe in the 1990s have substantially benefited bird populations across the region, a new study has shown. Compared with the period 1970-1990, the population trends of species protected by national legislation improved during 1990-2000, particularly for those species receiving focused attention. Across the 306 species studied, the average rate of decline was much lower after protection than before. This suggests that modern conservation policies in the region were already taking effect.

A new decision-making aid to identify the best type of management plan for Natura 2000 sites has been developed by researchers. Using extensive data on different facets of biodiversity and human impacts, the researchers created two indices to show where conservation measures need to be integrated with socio-economic development. This study used sites in Italy as a case study but the method is widely applicable to all Natura 2000 sites, the researchers stress.

Ash dieback in the UK is likely to lead to the extinction or decline of over 50 species which are reliant on or highly associated with this tree, including mosses, lichens and beetles, a new study suggests. The researchers recommend that the ash trees are not felled but left to die naturally and in time replaced with mixtures of species such as beech and sycamore which support similar woodland species.

Managing urban green spaces to ensure that they have a good mix of tree species, including some older and larger trees, can enhance species diversity of woodland birds, a new study has shown. The study, carried out in Prague, Czech Republic, also showed that the presence of water bodies increased the number of species of woodland birds.

Ecosystems are complex and managing them effectively can mean balancing conflicting conservation goals. In a recent US study in the San Francisco Bay area researchers examine the best strategies to eradicate an invasive plant while protecting an endangered bird that uses it for nesting habitat. They find that with a clear management plan both goals can be achieved, albeit over a longer timeframe.

Increased plant biodiversity improves grassland soil quality by boosting its nitrogen levels, even in the absence of nitrogen-fixing plants, recent research has found. Previous research has shown that grasslands with higher biodiversity had higher levels of carbon and nitrogen. However, in the case of nitrogen it has been suggested that this was purely a result of increased numbers of nitrogen-fixing legumes, such as clover. This study was the first to show that, even without legumes, increased numbers of grassland species increased both carbon and nitrogen soil stocks.

Monitoring biodiversity on farms is vital for conservation policies but how much does it cost? In a new pan-European study, researchers develop a standardised monitoring programme and estimate it will cost an average of €8 200 per farm to conduct. This cost could be dramatically cut if volunteer ‘citizen scientists’ or farmers help gather data for the programmes.

With over half of Europe’s species dependent on agricultural habitats, protecting ‘high nature value’ farmland is vital to biodiversity conservation. However, the identification and assessment of such farmland requires careful co-ordination, concludes a recent study. The researchers present a framework to help with this process and make a set of key recommendations.

Only about two or three small birds are killed by wind turbines each year for every 225-300 houses supplied with renewable energy, new research suggests. The study collated data from 116 US and Canadian studies on 156 species of passerines (small birds). The study suggests some species are affected more than others, but that wind turbines generally have only a minor impact on these small-bird populations.

Increasing temperatures and rising ocean acidification could reduce the health and survival of young sharks, new research has shown. Bamboo shark embryos incubated under ocean temperatures and acidity predicted for 2100 showed survival rates of 80% compared to 100% survival under present-day conditions. Once hatched, survival measured at 30 days was only 44% for those under predicted climate change conditions, again compared to 100% for those experiencing current temperature and acidity.

A new disease capable of devastating European salamander and newt populations was probably introduced via international wildlife trade, new research has found. The study shows that the disease is deadly for many European species of salamanders and its analysis of more than 5000 amphibians from across four continents suggests the pathogen spread from Asia to Europe via the pet trade.