We are expanding our monitoring: in collaboration with consortium partner RAVON zijn we gestart met een pilot om amfibieën te monitoren. Het gaat namelijk niet goed met de amfibieënpopulaties in het agrarisch gebied. Er zijn echter signalen dat strokenteelt een positieve bijdrage kan leveren aan het leefgebied van de amfibieën. Om erachter te komen of dit inderdaad het geval is, zijn we gestart met een pilot. Het doel is te zien of er op de percelen in ons akkerbouwnetwerk voldoende amfibieën aanwezig zijn om te zenderen en te monitoren.
Together with RAVON, we have identified the most promising monitoring sites in our network for this purpose, for instance because they are located along ditches or pools. So far, we have observed amphibians at four of the five test sites. RAVON also helped draw up the monitoring protocol so that we inventory amphibians in a standard way. For now, we only do this on land, but this summer we also want to start monitoring in water.
Rare crested newt
Some of the first finds included a crested newt (Triturus cristatus) - rare for agricultural areas. The crested newt was in a ditch next to the strip cultivation plot on Zuylestein estate. Fun fact: The underside of the crested newt's belly has a unique spotting pattern, like a fingerprint, which allows you to recognise each individual.
The crested newt has Red List status “Vulnerable” and is protected under the Environment Act. The species likes forested environments and often small-scale, varied landscapes, such as wooded banks and thickets in the immediate vicinity of its breeding water. Today, the species is hardly found in agricultural areas due to the lack of these landscape elements and/or the use of pesticides and fertilisers.
The fact that we found the species on Zuylenstein estate indicates that vulnerable species such as the crested newt can also survive in transitions from agricultural to forest areas, provided old landscape elements are preserved and the right management is applied. Whether the crested newt will benefit from strip farming we do not yet know, but we will definitely keep an eye on this!
Want to know more? Contact us at cropmix@wur.nl.
