Field selection of greylag geese (Anser anser)

Abstract

Greylag geese (Anser anser) have been increasing in numbers in Europe during the last decades. They forage and roost in agricultural landscapes and may cause damage to sensitive crops. We studied field selection of greylag geese around lake Sörfjärden in south central Sweden where geese aggregate during the growing season. In this area a set-aside field was established in 2010, i.e., a field where geese can graze undisturbed, with the aim to reduce damage in surrounding conventional fields. The goal of our study was to investigate the general selection of the different field types as well as the specific set-aside field. We used a point survey count to estimate goose numbers and regression analyses to evaluate the relationship between presence or absence of greylag geese and field characteristics such as crop type, distance to roost site and field size. According to the top-ranked model, the probability of presence of foraging greylag geese was higher in spring and in grass fields, while the probability decreased with distance to roost site. Our results also show that the set-aside field in general was used more than other fields in the area during spring and summer but not during autumn. We conclude that it is important to consider variables affecting the probability of field selection by geese, such as season, crop type and distance to roosts to understand the behaviour of geese when establishing set-aside fields.

Selection of a diversionary field and other habitats by large grazing birds in a landscape managed for agriculture and wetland biodiversity

“…Second after the diversionary field, the probability of goose presence was highest on ley and barley, followed by rye and triticale, beans and peas, and wheat. This is in line with previous research on field occupancy during the growing season and corresponding reported crop damage (Montràs‐Janer et al., 2020; Strong et al., 2021; Teräväinen et al., 2022). Our study was, however, limited to the growing season and to one diversionary field, consequently we could not analyse additional factors known to influence the use and selection of the landscape and consequent variation in damage risk to arable land (e.g.…”

“…the closer the better) can be used to attract common cranes, and that short sward ley fields ⁓4 km from roost sites can be used to attract greylag geese. These results are in line with previous studies showing that fields close to roost sites are selected for, and especially short sward ley fields by greylag geese (Simonsen et al, 2017;Strong et al, 2021;Vickery & Gill, 1999) and barley fields by common cranes (Nilsson et al, 2016). Yet, the impact risk on sensitive crops has been found to be higher in fields in the very proximity of diversionary feeding, which calls for careful location of diversionary fields away from sensitive crops (Geisser & Reyer, 2004;Kubasiewicz et al, 2015;Van Beest et al, 2010).…”

“…Such sites are often situated near protected wetlands (i.e. the implication of The Bern Convention in Ramsar sites or the EU implementation of conservation of birds and habitats in Natura 2000 sites) that provide feeding possibilities and protection, but foraging also takes place in the surrounding agricultural landscape (Nilsson et al., 2019; Teräväinen et al., 2022). Growing numbers of large grazing birds have increasing impact on agricultural production due to foraging, trampling, and grubbing, especially just after sowing, during sprouting and when ripened.…”

“…Previous studies have mainly limited their focus to selection of arable fields and effects of damage mitigation on fields (e.g. Aarseth, 2023; Nilsson et al., 2016; Teräväinen et al., 2022). It would hence be useful to gain a wider understanding of how the measures affect use (i.e.…”

The cascading effects of submerged macrophyte collapse on geese at Poyang Lake, China

“…Similarly, satellite tracking data indicated that Chinese wintering goose populations were almost entirely confined to natural wetlands and seldomly exploited farmlands probably because of high human disturbance in farmlands (Yu et al, 2017; Zhao et al, 2018). In contrast, most goose populations wintering in Europe and North America primarily forage on anthropogenic foods in agricultural fields (Askren et al, 2022; Fox & Abraham, 2017; Hill & Frederick, 1997; Strong et al, 2021; Vickery et al, 1994). Bean geese and greater white‐fronted geese also extensively exploit agricultural fields in Europe (Rosin et al, 2012), Japan (Amano, 2009), and South Korea (Fujioka et al, 2010).…”