DOI: 10.5061/dryad.6970v40
title: Data from: Managing hedgerows for nocturnal wildlife: do bats and their insect prey benefit from targeted agri-environment schemes?

description: 1. Mitigating the detrimental impacts of intensive farming on biodiversity
 requires the implementation of cost-effective conservation actions.
 Targeted agri-environment-schemes (AESs) to enhance populations of
 threatened species inhabiting farmland have been proposed for this
 purpose, yet their effectiveness for nocturnal wildlife remains unknown.
 2. We assessed whether hedgerow management prescribed by targeted AESs to
 improve habitat conditions for the greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus
 ferrumequinum) in England may positively influence the species, the entire
 bat assemblage and the insect prey of bats. We specifically investigated
 the responses of bats (occurrence, activity, and species richness) and
 insects (biomass, abundance, and diversity) to time since last trimming
 (from 1 up to 10 years). We explored the mechanisms underlying the effects
 of AES via changes in trimming regime on bats. Moreover, we investigated
 the effects of landscape context on bats as we expected that highly mobile
 species would benefit further from landscape-scale management. 3. Bat
 species richness significantly increased with time since last trimming.
 Three bat taxa of major conservation concern in Western Europe
 substantially benefited from the targeted prescription, namely R.
 ferrumequinum, R. hipposideros and Plecotus spp. Insect-family richness
 and dipteran abundance were also significantly greater at hedgerows that
 were untrimmed for at least three years. The activity of more common bat
 species (i.e. pipistrelle bats) was not influenced by time since last
 trimming. 4. Changes in trimming regime strongly affected hedgerow height
 which directly and indirectly (by increasing prey abundance) influenced
 bat occurrence, activity and species richness along hedgerows. 5. The
 activity of highly mobile bat species was mainly associated with a range
 of landscape attributes. The amount of semi-natural grassland within 0.5
 km of the sampling sites positively influenced R. ferrumequinum while the
 presence of urban areas negatively affected light-sensitive bat species.
 6. Synthesis and applications. The implementation of targeted
 agri-environment-schemes can include effective measures to enhance bats
 and their insect prey in farmland. Although we highlight the success of
 current prescriptions on hedgerow management, we suggest that their
 effectiveness can easily be optimized by encouraging farmers to keep
 hedgerows untrimmed for longer periods (&gt;3 up to 10 years). We also
 highlight that a multi-scale management approach is required to
 successfully promote bats in farmland.
description: Biological
 dataData on (i) bat activity
 and species richness; and (ii) insect biomass, abundance, and family
 richness. Data were collected in the field in 2016.Froidevaux_Biological_data_April2019.xlsxFarm coordinatesCoordinates of the farms sampled (PCS, WGS84, decimal degrees). Exact location information is generalized to protect landowners; the georeference is rounded to 0.01 degree.Froidevaux_Farm_coordinates_April2019.xlsxSite and landscape featuresDescription of the hedgerows sampled in the field and characteristics of the landscape surrounding each hedgerow at different spatial scales.Froidevaux_Site_and_landscape_features_April2019.xlsx