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Section 3 - List of options, management requirements and points allocations

Photo of Thwaite in the Yorkshire Dales, showing a rolling patchwork landscape

To join ELS you must make a commitment to carry out certain environmental management options which you choose from a wide-ranging menu listed in this section. Each option is worth a certain number of points per unit of area (e.g. buffer strip options) or length (e.g. hedge management options) or number (e.g. in-field tree options).

Your pre-filled application form will show the target number of points that you must meet (or exceed) for your application. Your points target is directly related to the area of your eligible RLR registered land. If you agree to deliver enough ELS options to meet your points target you will be guaranteed entry into the scheme.

The following pages contain a summary table of all the management options and their corresponding point allocations. This is followed by more detailed descriptions of the management requirements for each option.

3.1 Summary table - options and points available

Summary table - options and points available
  Code Option Units Points
Options for Boundary Features EB1
 Hedgerow management (on both sides of hedge) 100m 22
EB2 Hedgerow management (on one side of hedge) 100m 11
EB3 Enhanced hedgerow management 100m 42
EB4 Stone-faced hedgebank management on both sides 100m 16
EB5 Stone-faced hedgebank management on one side 100m 8
EB6 Ditch management 100m 24
EB7 Half ditch management 100m 8
EB8 Combined hedge and ditch management (incorporating EB1 hedge management) 100m 38
EB9 Combined hedge and ditch management (incorporating EB2 hedge management) 100m 26
EB10 Combined hedge and ditch management (incorporating EB3 hedge management) 100m 56
EB11 Stone wall protection and maintenance 100m 15
Options for Trees and Woodland EC1 Protection of in-field trees – arable Tree 12
EC2 Protection of in-field trees – grassland Tree 8
EC3 Maintenance of woodland fences 100m 4
EC4 Management of woodland edges ha 380
Options for Historic and Landscape Features ED1 Traditional Farm Buildings m2 2
ED2 Take archaeological features currently on cultivated land out of cultivation ha 460
ED3 Reduce cultivation depth on land where there are archaeological features ha 60
ED4 Management of scrub on archaeological sites ha 120
ED5 Archaeological features on grassland ha 16
Options for Buffer Strips and Field Margins EE1 2 m buffer strips on cultivated land ha 300
EE2 4 m buffer strips on cultivated land ha 400
EE3 6 m buffer strips on cultivated land ha 400
EE4 2 m buffer strips on intensive grassland ha 300
EE5 4 m buffer strips on intensive grassland ha 400
EE6 6 m buffer strips on intensive grassland ha 400
EE7 Buffering in-field ponds in improved grassland ha 400
EE8 Buffering in-field ponds in arable land ha 400
Options for Arable Land EF1 Field corner management ha 400
EF2 Wild bird seed mixture ha 450
EF3 Wild bird seed mixture on set-aside land ha 85
EF4 Pollen and nectar flower mixture ha 450
EF5 Pollen and nectar flower mixture on set-aside land ha 85
EF6 Over-wintered stubbles ha 120
EF7 Beetle banks ha 580
EF8 Skylark plots plot 5
EF9 Conservation headlands in cereal fields ha 100
EF10 Conservation headlands in cereal fields with no fertilisers or manure ha 330
EF11 6m uncropped, cultivated margins on arable land ha 400
Options to Encourage a Range of Crop Types EG1 Under sown spring cereals ha 200
EG2 Wild bird seed mixture in grassland areas ha 450
EG3 Pollen and nectar seed mixtures in grassland areas ha 450
EG4 Cereals for whole crop silage followed by over-wintered stubbles ha 230
EG5 Brassica fodder crops followed by over-wintered stubbles ha 90
Options to Protect Soils EJ1 Management of high erosion risk cultivated land ha 18
EJ2 Management of maize crops to reduce soil erosion ha 18
Options for Lowland Grassland Outside the LFA EK1 Take field corners out of management ha 400
EK2 Permanent grassland with low inputs ha 85
EK3 Permanent grassland with very low inputs ha 150
EK4 Management of rush pastures (outside the LFA) ha 150
EK5 Mixed stocking ha 8
Options for the Uplands (LFA land) EL1 Field corner management (LFA land) ha 100
EL2 Manage permanent in-bye grassland with low inputs ha 35
EL3 Manage in-bye pasture and meadows with very low inputs ha 60
EL4 Management of rush pastures (LFA land) ha 60
EL5 Enclosed rough grazing ha 35
EL6 Moorland and rough grazing ha 5
Management Plans EM1 Soil management plan ha 3
EM2 Nutrient management plan ha 2
EM3 Manure management plan ha 2
EM4 Crop protection management plan ha 2

Some of the option details refer to an 'Environmental Information Map' - see section 2.1 for more details.

Page last modified: 4 August, 2006
Page published: 3 March, 2005

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs