Agri-environment schemes do not support Brown Hare populations due to inadequate scheme application

Abstract

The goal of many agri-environment schemes (AES) is to increase biodiversity in agroecosystems. AES effects are often measured on invertebrates and birds; mammals as indicator species are infrequently targets of such researches. Our goal was to evaluate the local-scale effects of the Hungarian Agri-Environmental Measures (AEM) on the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus), which shows decreasing population trends across Europe. We compared hare abundances and their dropping numbers in AEM and control agricultural arable and grassland fields of 17 game management units in two seasons. We also examined the quality of arable fields based on their margin width and vegetation cover. We found that margin quality was higher in AEM than in the control fields. Control grasslands had higher vegetation quality than the AEM grasslands. We found a significant difference in hare counts between AEM and control arable fields in spring but no difference in autumn. The dropping densities did not differ in any season, treatment category or agroecosystem type. We conclude that the AEM program (2009-2014) in Hungary was not effective for the hare, and this might have been caused by the inadequate or weak application of AEM practices. We provide recommendations for future AEM programs to enhance biodiversity.

The impact of Agri-Environment Schemes (AES) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) on the density of European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) populations in Hungary

“…Because the vegetation quantity of the field is important for the hare (Langhammer et al, 2017;Zellweger-Fischer et al, 2011), the crop fields of large acreage have a negative impact on hares (Panek and Kamieniarz, 1999), in the future we need to produce more permanent set-aside sites and herbaceous field margins, because these interventions have the largest population response effects (Langhammer et al, 2017). We need to know the fields' vegetation in each year and season during the AES in the future, because when the WMUs had higher percentage from the avoided vegetation, the potential positive effect of AES could not prevail (Ujhegyi et al, 2021). In this Hungarian AES the maximum size of each parcel was 75 ha, but if there was not preferred vegetation for the hare on the most parcels, that did not help for the hare to survive.…”

Improving the method of lens mass preparation for age assessment in the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus)

“…Thanks to its high ecological plasticity, the European hare inhabits diverse habitats, with flat landscapes being the most suitable for its survival (Beuković et al 2009), making it a characteristic species of European agricultural areas (Panek 2018). However, despite its large distribution range, influenced by numerous factors, the hare population is increasingly being suppressed both in Europe (Schmidt et al 2004, Smith et al 2005, Hackländer 2012, Ujhegyi et al 2021 and in Serbia (Ristić et al 2021). The abundance of hares is influenced by natural factors such as climate, diseases, and predators, as well as anthropogenic factors including agricultural activities, traffic, and hunting (Pelorosso et al 2008.…”