Reference:

Tuffnell, N & Britt, C (2008). Determining the Usage and Usage Patterns of Amenity Pesticides Across the UK. Final project report by Risk & Policy Analysts Ltd and Britt Vegetation Management for Defra’s Pesticide Safety Directorate. March 2008.

UK Environmental Change Network (ECN)

The ECN is the UK's long-term environmental monitoring network, studying the causes and effects of environmental change.  Funded by a number of government departments, agencies and research organisations, and co-ordinated by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) on behalf of NERC, the network includes 12 terrestrial sites and more than 40 freshwater sites.  Each site collects data on physical, chemical and biological variables - according to the requirements of standardised scientific protocols.

Drayton in Warwickshire was one of the original eight ECN sites, when the network was first established in 1992.  As at the other terrestrial sites, data are collected on vertebrates (e.g. birds, bats, rabbits and frogs), invertebrates (e.g. butterflies, moths, ground beetles, craneflies and spittle bugs), soils, meteorology, precipitation and soil water chemistry.

Chris Britt was the contract and technical manager for ECN work at Drayton, funded by MAFF/ Defra, from 1992 until 2006.  Total contract value >£800,000.

Trees in Towns II

This was a national survey of urban trees in England - the largest ever undertaken.  The research was completed by ADAS and Myerscough College on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) (now the Department for Communities and Local Government).

The research involved two main tasks, or 'strands'.  Strand 1 involved field surveys of 590 4ha plots, in 147 towns and cities, and measurement of canopy cover in 1,783 4ha plots from aerial photographs.  Variables recorded and analysed in the field survey included tree species/variety, location, height, stem diameter, crown spread, condition and recent management.  Strand 2 included a postal survey of local authority tree officers, to determine current practices and trends in urban tree management. 

Chris Britt was the Project Director and technical manager for this £300,000 contract, completed between 2003 and 2005.  He also managed the Strand 1 field survey.

The final report was published by DCLG in February 2008.  The executive summary is available on the DCLG website and the full report (with the TT2 database) can be purchased from DCLG.

Reference:

Britt C & Johnston M (Eds) (2008).  Trees in Towns II. A new survey of urban trees in England and their condition and management.  Research for Amenity Trees No. 9.  Department for Communities and Local Government, London.  February 2008.  ISBN 978 185 112 8891.


PAMUCEAF - Poplars: a multiple-use crop for European arable farmers

This large, multi-disciplinary project included separate tasks on environmental impacts (on soils, water, biodiversity and landscapes), GIS, economic modelling, products and markets, and farmer and public attitudes. There were seven project partners in Belgium, Ireland, Poland, Sweden and the UK.

Chris Britt was the Co-ordinator of this four year, EC-funded research project; which was completed in 2003.

Reference:

Britt C P, Fowbert J & McMillan S D (2007).  The ground flora and invertebrate fauna of hybrid poplar plantations: results of ecological monitoring in the PAMUCEAF project.  Aspects of Applied Biology 82, Vegetation Management.  83-90.

Aquatic Weed Control - Bromsgrove District Council

Bromsgrove District Council, in Worcestershire, had a problem with fool's water-cress (Apium nodiflorum) along a two mile stretch of urban stream; where this weed species was impeding water-flow, causing blockages and increasing the risk of flooding. BVM were asked to look at the problem, provide control recommendations and to arrange treatment.  A previous attempt by the local authority to mechanically control the weed had been unsuccessful, so herbicide treatment was recommended.  BVM then obtained approval from the Environment Agency, before employing a sub-contractor to spot-treat the target weed and patches of Indian balsam (Impatiens glandulifera).

Review of Environmental Awards Schemes - Natural England

In 2007, Natural England contracted BVM to undertake a review of existing environmental award schemes, to ensure that a planned new Natural England award scheme for environmental land and freshwater managers was effectively targeted and did not duplicate existing schemes. 

The project report, which met all of the client's expectations, was completed to a very tight deadline.


The Herbicide Handbook: Guidance on the use of herbicides on nature conservation sites

This 2003 handbook provided a much needed update of scientific information and practical guidance for conservationists, land managers, consultants and others concerned with the control of weed species in semi-natural areas and nature conservation sites.   The manual includes a chapter on non-chemical methods for weed control, as well as general guidance on the use of herbicides, and sections on legal and safety requirements, herbicide efficacy and effects on non-target species.

Chris Britt was the contract manager and lead author for this work, which was funded by English Nature (now Natural England). 

Reference:

Britt C, Mole A, Kirkham F, Terry A & Clarke J (2003). The Herbicide Manual. Guidance on the use of herbicides on nature conservation sites. English Nature, Peterborough (in association with FACT, the Forum for the Application of Conservation Techniques). ISBN 1 85716 746 5. 190 pp.

A pdf version of The Herbicide Handbook is also available (free of charge) from the Natural England website via the following links:

http://naturalengland.communisis.com/NaturalEnglandShop/download.aspx?Doc=http://naturalengland.communisis.com/naturalenglandshop/docs/HERB1-4.pdf

http://naturalengland.communisis.com/NaturalEnglandShop/download.aspx?Doc=http://naturalengland.communisis.com/naturalenglandshop/docs/HERB5-7.pdf

Hedgerow Management and Wildlife

This review, published by Defra in 2005, pulls together the extensive literature on hedgerows, focusing particularly on the impacts of hedgerow management and adjacent land use on biodiversity.  This was the second update and revision of a review first published in 1995, incorporating the findings of several major research projects that were completed in the intervening years.  The review includes an extensive, 51 page bibliography of hedgerow-related publications.

Reference:

Barr C J, Britt C P, Sparks T H & Churchward J M (Editors) (2005).  Hedgerow Management and Wildlife. A review of research on the effects of hedgerow management and adjacent land on biodiversity. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, London. 146 pp.

Farm Woodlands: Ecological impacts of planting trees on intensive arable farmland

Government incentives for farm woodland planting have resulted in significant areas of intensively managed arable land and grassland being planted with trees.  Relatively little was known, however, about the ecological impacts of this change of land use.

This research project - utilising an existing research site - involved direct comparisons of plant, bird (breeding season and winter), small mammal, bat and invertebrate (butterflies, moths, ground and rove beetles, spiders, etc) populations in a young farm woodland plantation, an adjacent arable field and the boundary hedgerow.

Chris Britt was the Contract Manager and technical manager, responsible for this three-year Defra-funded study at ADAS Boxworth, near Cambridge. 

Reference:

Britt, C P; Maher, H; Fowbert, J; Sherwood, A & McMillan, S D (2007). Ecological impacts of planting a new farm woodland on an intensive farm: effects of land use and tree species on floral and faunal biodiversity. Aspects of Applied Biology 82, Vegetation Management. 65-76.