Potential Biodiversity and Environmental Impacts of Commercial Willow SRC Production in the UK. Rebecca L. Rowe 1, Nathaniel R. Street 1, Michael E. Hanley 2, Dave Goulson 3, Gail Taylor 1 1 School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO16 7PX. 2 School of Biological Sciences B415, Portland Square, Drake Circus, Plymouth, Devon, PL4 8AA 3 School of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA Contact Ground flora species richness and abundance in Willow SRC is greater than in arable land suggesting that conversion of arable land would be beneficial for plant diversity. In contrast the conversion of set-aside would not be beneficial. Winged invertebrate abundance is comparable in all land uses, however the distribution of the orders varies between land uses suggesting that willow SRC plantations could increase farm scale invertebrate biodiversity. The review of current literature suggested that the use of biomass crops especial perennial crops, has the potential to provide a range of benefits. In addition the use of and the development of new SRC varieties specifically for phytoremedation has the potential to assist in making these crops economically viable. 1. Compare plant and winged invertebrate abundance and diversity in commercial Willow SRC plantation to arable and uniquely set-aside land. 2. Assess current knowledge base on a range of possible environmental impacts of bioenergy crops Table 1: Relative effects of the conversion of arable land to energy crop production. Summarized results of the literature review: Table 1 Illustrates the advantages of perennial energy crops over annual crops, but also highlights areas where future research is required. Of the possible bioenergy crops willow (Salix spp.) short rotation coppice (SRC), is one of the most developed in the UK, the cultivation of which represents a significant change in farming practices resulting in questions about the potential effects on farmland biodiversity Few studies in the UK have made direct comparisons of biodiversity in willow SRC at a commercial scale and other land uses, and none have included set- aside land. Thus this study aims to explore the possible impact on biodiversity of the replacement of arable land and set-aside with willow SRC. In addition, a literature review was conducted to assesses the evidence base for wider environmental impacts of large-scale bioenergy deployment within the UK context Three commercial willow SRC plantations and matched control plots of both arable and set-aside land were surveyed in August Ground flora surveys were conducted (24, 4m 2 quadrates per plot) and samples of above ground biomass were also collected. Yellow sticky traps were utilized to survey winged invertebrates, with trapped invertebrates being later identified to order (Fig 1). In addition a review of current literature was conducted, to assess current evidence bases for the effects of biomass crops on soil properties, hydrology, biodiversity, green houses gas emission and visual impacts. Fig 2. Ground flora species richness, showing that within the crop area, species richness is greatest in set- aside land, then willow SRC and final arable land. Same letter indicates no significant difference at 5% level. Fig 1: Yellow sticky traps. Traps were set up at 15 sampling points per plot with traps set at three heights at each sampling point (a). Traps were left in place for 144 hr before being collected (b) and returned to the lab for processing ab 4. Ground Flora Results Crop Type/ Environmental Impact Short Rotation Coppice Miscanthus Biofuel Crops (Wheat, oilseed rape, sugar beet) Soil Organic Carbon  Nitrogen leaching & Erosion  Phytoremedation  N/A Visual Impacts  Avian Diversity  a  b b  Plants Diversity  b  Invertebrates Diversity  c  b  Mammals Diversity  b  Hydrology dd  d  Energy and Carbon Balance   Positive effect , Negative effect , No effect . In most cases mixed result from individual’s studies are seen, this is especially so for research relating soil processes and is often caused by differences in the original soil status. (a) Negative impacts on some species of farmland birds. (b) More data for the UK is required before conclusion can be made. (c) Results based on invertebrate groups studied so far but more work is required on a wider range of species. (d) No effect on catchment scale hydrology is seen if plantations are sited according to current Defra guidelines. Fig 3: Ground flora biomass, showing the comparable flora abundance in set-aside and willow SRC, and the low values for arable land. Same letter indicates no significant difference at 5% level. Fig 4: Invertebrate abundance. Abundance was found to be comparable in all land uses. Same letter indicates no significant difference at 5% level Fig 5: Effect of land use on invertebrate orders. A selection of the 22 orders size classes recorded is shown. This shows which orders are more abundant in willow SRC. 5. Winged Invertebrate Results 6. Literature review results 1. Aims 2. Introduction 3.Methods 7. Conclusions Thanks to the land owners for providing access to sites, and to my field assistants, M. Aylott, S. Milner, A. Wan, S. Yorke, for all their hard work. Funding provided by NERC. Due to large number of references used in the review a full list is available on request 9. Acknowledgements and References