Can rolling composite wildflower blocks increase biodiversity in agricultural landscapes better than wildflowers strips?

Abstract Biodiversity and abundance of wildlife has dramatically declined in agricultural landscapes. Sown, short‐lived wildflower (WF) strips along the margins crop fields are a widespread often subsidised agri‐environmental schemes, intended to enhance biodiversity, provide refuges for wild plant arthropod populations ecosystem services crops. Meanwhile, WF elements also criticised, since their functionality decreases with succession, removal aged strip poses an ecological trap attracted only common mobile species benefit. Further, insects impacted by pesticides from due shared boundaries edge effects. The performance measure could be improved combining several different successional stages, each harbouring unique community plants arthropods, into persistent, composite block, where stages exist parallel. Monitoring data on many taxa literature shows, that third temporarily present ageing stip, thus offering blocks should increase cumulative richness 28%–39% compared annual strips. Persistence would offer reliable refuge animal populations, supporting predators herbivores. have less crops same area, effects pesticides. Policy implications . Here I suggest change conservation practice changing blocks. By regular replacement either within block (rotational) or at its (rolling), habitat heterogeneity perpetuated. Rolling locations over years, original location can reconverted arable land while nearby is still available wildlife. A schemes necessary, some European countries clustered explicitly not subsidised.