Energy crops affecting farmland birds in Central Europe: insights from a miscanthus-dominated landscape

Abstract

The expansion of energy crops such as miscanthus Miscanthus x giganteus has changed the habitat of European farmland birds. However, most studies on the subject are based in Western Europe. We surveyed the avian community in a sample bioenergy landscape in Poland to investigate the pattern of use of the crop by birds in Central Europe. During a year-long survey, 80 species were noted, with 32 sighted in miscanthus. The number of bird sightings was negatively correlated with the area covered by miscanthus in study plots. In contrast to results from Western Europe, most woodland-generalist bird species tended to avoid miscanthus. Farmland species (e.g. the corn bunting Miliaria calandra; the tree sparrow Passer montanus; the starling Sturnus vulgaris; the yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella) were less frequently sighted in the crop than in other habitats. Only a few species were sighted more often in miscanthus than in other habitats, e.g. the marsh warbler Acrocephalus palustris; the reed bunting Emberiza schoeniclus; the whinchat Saxicola rubetra. The potential impact of expanded miscanthus cropping on bird communities in Central and Eastern Europe may diverge from predictions derived from studies based in Western Europe due to differing habitat preferences and bird densities between the regions. For a majority of farmland species, the crop may constitute only a suboptimal, supplementary habitat, with only a few birds potentially adapting to the exploitation of bioenergy plantations.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.2478/s11756-018-0143-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Perennial rhizomatous grasses: Can they really increase species richness and abundance in arable land?—A meta‐analysis

“…In the United Kingdom, PRG are preferred by woodland species (Bellamy et al, 2009;Clapham, 2011). However, in summer, more farmland bird were identified in PRG than in annuals crops by Bellamy et al (2009) and in Poland, farmland species dominated in PRG (Kaczmarek et al, 2018). These aspects are often not addressed in enough detail in biodiversity assessments, and this can result in a change in species composition being overseen.…”

“…Typical field species such as corn bunting, skylark and starling generally prefer younger, poorly established PRG cultivations and avoid older, dense and well‐established plantations. The latter are however, usually a preferred habitat for woodland species (Bellamy et al., 2009; Clapham, 2011; Kaczmarek, Mizera, & Tryjanowski, 2018). In the United Kingdom, PRG are preferred by woodland species (Bellamy et al., 2009; Clapham, 2011).…”