Cultivating Arable Margins

A Decade of Biodiversity Gains at Birling Estate

For over a decade, we’ve been cultivating arable margins here at Birling Estate, and the results are nothing short of remarkable. These areas, often overlooked in modern farming, have proven their value time and again as crucial habitats for biodiversity, pollinators, and arable farming. By maintaining these uncultivated strips alongside crop fields, we’re creating spaces where rare plants, insects, and wildlife can thrive, enriching the ecosystem and supporting sustainable agriculture.

Last year, the Kent Botanical Recording Group conducted a survey of our arable margins and uncovered something extraordinary: Narrow-fruited Cornsalad (Valerianella dentata), an Endangered species and Kent axiophyte. This rare arable weed, which has drastically declined with the widespread use of agricultural herbicides, is a clear indicator of high-quality arable plant habitat. Its presence on our shallow chalk soils highlights the success of our conservation practices.

The survey also recorded a fascinating diversity of other plants in the sample plot, including Sharp-leaved Fluellen (a rare, indicator and axiophyte species), Scarlet Pimpernel and Field Madder.

Each of these species plays a role in the complex web of life that arable margins support. These habitats are vital not only for conserving endangered plants but also for attracting pollinators and beneficial insects that help maintain healthy crops. Arable margins provide nesting sites for birds, corridors for wildlife movement, and refuge for species that struggle in intensively farmed landscapes.

Looking ahead, our vision is to create a continuous arable margin corridor across the Chalk to Coast landscape corridor. This ambitious target will connect fragmented habitats, support biodiversity on a landscape scale, and reinforce the ecological health of Kent’s farmland.