Biodiversity responses to land use in traditional fruit orchards of a rural agricultural landscape

Horák, Jakub; Peltanová, Alena; Podavkova, Andrea; Šafářová, Lenka; Bogusch, Petr; Romportl, Dušan; Zasadil, Petr

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2013.06.020

Cited by 64 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Here, we investigate the environmental factors affecting the abundance of birds breeding in intensive apple orchards. Traditional orchards are considered one of the high natural value farming systems in Europe (Cooper et al 2007), because they host a rich biodiversity thanks to a combination of grassland in the understory and broadleaved woodland in the overstory (Herzog 1998;Horak et al 2013;Myczko et al 2013). In large parts of Europe, agricultural intensification has turned orchards into strongly artificial habitats frequently shaped and managed entirely according to production criteria (Simon et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of residual habitats and crop management for the conservation of birds breeding in intensive orchards

Brambilla

Assandri

Martino

et al. 2015

Ecological Research

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Intensive orchards are artificial habitats managed according to production criteria, but they may mimic open woodlands and harbour wild species. We investigated the effect of orchard features on the true abundance (estimated with occupancy models) of some bird species widespread in orchards. Our study was carried out in Val di Non (Trento province, Italy) where apple cultivation is the most widespread and intensive. We counted blackcaps Sylvia atricapilla, chaffinches Fringilla coelebs, and greenfinches Carduelis chloris three times at 44 transects 300-m long. At each transect, we estimated the number of territories/pairs and recorded variables describing the cover of the habitats and management factors. Blackcap abundance was positively affected by the cover of shrubland and broadleaved woodland and by a low cover of coniferous forests. Chaffinch abundance was driven by a negative impact of anti-hail nets and secondarily by bare ground and urbanized areas, with chaffinches more abundant in areas with grassland ground cover and 5-10 % cover of urban habitats. Greenfinch abundance increased with wetland cover, cover of other natural/semi-natural habitats and tree height and decreased with grassland cover. Both the availability of natural and semi-natural vegetation and the orchard traits determined by management can significantly affect the abundance of common species. The conservation of the remaining patches of woodland, shrubland, wetland (and other natural/semi-natural habitats) is essential for bird conservation. The already reported negative impact of anti-hail nets and the importance of the height of apple trees are confirmed; irrigation systems and bare ground may also be important factors.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of residual habitats and crop management for the conservation of birds breeding in intensive orchards

Brambilla

Assandri

Martino

et al. 2015

Ecological Research

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“…During the twentieth century, mechanisation in both agriculture and forestry brought the era of intensive land use (Young et al 2005;Wrbka et al 2008;Korösi et al 2014), and the traditional land use practices were no longer economically viable (Konvicka et al 2005;Henle et al 2008). Consequently, the land became either intensively used or abandoned, which led to population declines in numerous butterfly species (Dover et al 2010;Horák et al 2013;Loos et al 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land management impacts on European butterflies of conservation concern: a review

et al. 2015

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Recent land use changes, namely the intensification of agriculture and forestry as well as the abandonment of traditional grassland management methods, have resulted in the decline of butterfly diversity in Europe. Appropriate management of butterfly habitats is thus required in order to reverse this negative trend. The aim of our study was to review the available literary information concerning the effects of various types of management on European butterflies of conservation concern, and to provide practical recommendations for the management of butterfly habitats. Since vegetation succession is a major threat to butterfly populations, there is a need for activities to suppress this process. Extensive grazing and rotational mowing, which imitate the traditional way of meadow use, appear to be the most suitable management in this respect. Both grazing and mowing should optimally be of low intensity and follow a mosaic design, with different land fragments being successively used at different times. Habitat disturbance through trampling, either associated with grazing or various sporting activities (hiking, biking, horse riding), or through occasional small-area burning, also prove to be beneficial for many butterflies. In the case of woodland species, maintaining open habitats within forests (glades, clearings, wide road verges) and thinning forest stands is recommended. Among the unfavourable management activities identified, the most harmful are afforestation of open lands and drainage works. Therefore, such activities must be stopped at butterfly sites in order to ensure the effective conservation of species of conservation concern.

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“…The landscape level was measured for any particular surveyed site within a circle having radius 2263 m (from the center of the site), thereby taking in the surround 1608 ha. This distance was selected because it is known to best reflect the influence of land use types on birds in our study area [7]. The proportion of rural and urban land use type (%) indicated the intensity of settlement and built-up areas in the surroundings of the studied sites.…”

Section: Categorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Birds have mostly higher dispersal abilities than other taxa [6]. On the other hand, this ability, together with biotic interactions among birds, predisposes them generally to a necessity to utilize habitat patches on larger landscape scales [7]. Considering the generally negative impacts of fragmentation, which causes isolation for most organisms, this could apparently provide an advantage to birds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disentangling the Roles of Topography, Patch, and Land Use on Conservation Trait Status of Specialist Birds in Marginal Forest Land Use Types

Zasadil

Romportl

Horák

2020

Forests

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One of the main questions in ecology and conservation is how organisms are governed and affected by their traits within the context of abiotic gradients. The main question of our study addresses how patch, topography, and land use influence conservation trait status (rarity and red-list index) of birds generally, and of farmland and woodland specialists specifically, in marginal forest landscape types. We sampled birds from 68 traditional fruit orchards existing as remnants of agroforestry within the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic during two consecutive years. We recorded 57 bird species, of which 31 species were forest dwellers and 16 farmland dwellers. Topographical predictors played the most significant role in influencing traits of the bird community as a whole. Farmland bird traits indicated the most balanced values, as they were significantly influenced by all studied predictor sets. Their responses nevertheless differed among the studied traits and also showed a more complex pattern because the values of interaction between some predictor categories were relatively high. Traits of woodland birds were most influenced by the patch configuration. We found that a structurally diversified marginal habitat type of traditional fruit orchards is able to promote a number of specialist species and also reveals important relationships between bird conservation traits and different predictor sets. Researchers should pay more attention to the conservation traits of birds and their interactions with environmental predictors. Furthermore, conservationists should be more attentive to the biodiversity value and sustainable management of traditional fruit orchards.

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Biodiversity responses to land use in traditional fruit orchards of a rural agricultural landscape

Cited by 64 publications

References 31 publications

The importance of residual habitats and crop management for the conservation of birds breeding in intensive orchards

The importance of residual habitats and crop management for the conservation of birds breeding in intensive orchards

Land management impacts on European butterflies of conservation concern: a review

Disentangling the Roles of Topography, Patch, and Land Use on Conservation Trait Status of Specialist Birds in Marginal Forest Land Use Types

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