Landscape heterogeneity and management practices drive habitat preferences of wintering and breeding birds in intensively-managed fruit-tree plantations

Rime, Yann; Luisier, Célestin; Arlettaz, Raphaël; Jacot, Alain

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2020.106890

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Apple orchards are both intensively managed agroecosystems and important breeding sites for birds worldwide (southern Europe (Bouvier et al 2011;Brambilla et al 2015;Genghini et al 2006); central Europe (Chmielewski 2019); Asia (Katayama 2016); USA (Mangan et al 2017;Rime et al 2020)). We recorded in this study a total of 32 bird species, which corresponds to 10% of the total avifauna breeding in France (Issa and Muller 2015) and noticeably supports the use of apple orchards by numerous breeding birds in this area.…”

Section: Diversity Of Bird Assemblages In Southeastern France Apple O...supporting

confidence: 66%

“…The absence of exclusion net-induced effects on the bird communities was unexpected. In the spring, birds may frequent apple orchards to search for food, in the herbaceous layer, on the ground, or, especially for insects, in the tree foliage (Rime et al 2020). They may also use apple trees as a support for their nests.…”

Section: No Effects Of Single-row Pest Exclusion Nets On Bird Assembl...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Across Europe, agricultural intensification has converted traditional fruit orchards with high natural value (Cooper et al 2007;Myczko et al 2013) into intensively managed, low-stem tree plantations that constitute more simplified habitats essentially managed to meet high production criteria (Simon et al 2010). Commercial orchards display an overall structural homogeneity but still combine woody elements and herbaceous vegetation between tree rows that can benefit bird species associated with forest edges and open woodland (Bouvier et al 2020;Myczko et al 2013;Rime et al 2020;Simon et al 2010). Crop protection programs against pests in orchards mainly rely on synthetic (integrated pest management (IPM) farming) or natural (organic farming) pesticides (FAO 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Single-row exclusion nets: an alternative pest control method with no detectable impact on breeding bird assemblages in orchards bordered by hedgerows

Bouvier

Boivin

Lavigne

2022

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

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Agricultural intensification has led to dramatic declines in bird populations. In particular, the acknowledged role of synthetic pesticides on direct bird intoxication or food resource depletion urges us to seek alternative crop protection methods. Pest exclusion netting systems have recently gained popularity among fruit growers as an efficient means of reducing pest attacks, allowing their transition to organic farming. Single-row exclusion nets, which only cover fruit trees and leave uncovered both the inter-row grassy strips and the hedges, are increasingly being used in apple orchards of Southern Europe. However, net-induced effects on wildlife remain unknown. This study is the first to assess the impacts of single-row exclusion nets on breeding bird communities. We hypothesized that the exclusion net effects would be weaker than those associated with synthetic pesticide use, except for bird species that forage in the tree canopy. We monitored breeding bird abundance, and species richness in 46 commercial apple orchards managed using integrated pest management (IPM) or organic standards with or without exclusion nets. We counted 705 birds belonging to 32 different species. Total bird abundance, the number of observed species, and the Chao1 estimate of species richness were influenced by orchard management strategy. Breeding bird assemblages in organic orchards were as numerous and diverse in both the presence and absence of exclusion nets. In contrast, both bird abundance and species richness were significantly decreased in IPM orchards. The abundance and species richness of bird assemblages and the abundance of a few individual species also increased with the number of hedgerows bordering the orchards. Our results demonstrate that single-row netting systems for organic farming represent an effective pest control strategy with no significant impact on bird communities and highlight the importance of hedgerows along the orchards’ edges.

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Section: Diversity Of Bird Assemblages In Southeastern France Apple O...supporting

confidence: 66%

Section: No Effects Of Single-row Pest Exclusion Nets On Bird Assembl...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Single-row exclusion nets: an alternative pest control method with no detectable impact on breeding bird assemblages in orchards bordered by hedgerows

Bouvier

Boivin

Lavigne

2022

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

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“…Olive orchards provide food to millions of frugivorous songbirds wintering in the Mediterranean region, potentially affecting their populations at the continental scale (Rey, 1993, 2011; Tellería et al., 2005), while bird economic damages seem to be negligible (but see Berraï et al., 2017). Like other fruit crops (Rime et al., 2020), olive cultivation has fast intensified during the past decades (Sánchez‐Martínez & Paniza Cabrera, 2015; Tous et al., 2010), but little is known about how this affects wintering birds. Gaining such understanding is important to inform bird conservation and management in intensive fruit crops.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preserving wintering frugivorous birds in agro‐ecosystems under land use change: Lessons from intensive and super‐intensive olive orchards

Morgado

Pedroso

Porto

et al. 2021

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Fleshy fruit production is becoming more intensive worldwide, but how this affects frugivorous birds is poorly known. In the Mediterranean region, intensive and super‐intensive olive orchards are fast expanding, potentially affecting millions of wintering songbirds. Here, we test the idea that intensification may benefit frugivorous birds, at least locally, due to increased fruit availability, while negatively affecting the wider wintering bird community due to intensive management, structural simplification and landscape homogenisation. We estimated olive abundance and surveyed birds in early, mid‐ and late winter, at traditional, intensive and super‐intensive orchards in southern Portugal. We used Hierarchical Modelling of Species Communities to relate species richness, prevalence and abundance to management intensity, winter period, olive availability and landscape context, and evaluated the role of frugivory in modulating observed responses. Olive availability was much higher throughout the winter in more intensive than in traditional orchards, both in trees and on the ground. Frugivorous bird abundance was higher in more intensive orchards, and the most abundant frugivorous species (blackcap, song thrush, robin) were positively affected by olive availability and/or increasing landscape cover by olive orchards, while intensification level had relatively minor effects after accounting for other variables. Non‐frugivorous richness and abundance were higher in traditional orchards, and many non‐frugivorous species had lower prevalence in more intensive orchards or were negatively affected by landscapes dominated by olive cultivation. Synthesis and applications. While negatively affecting the wider bird community, our results suggest that olive farming intensification can contribute to sustaining large numbers of frugivorous birds in the Mediterranean region. As frugivorous birds are not seen as damaging by olive farmers, there is an opportunity to promote their conservation in intensive and super‐intensive orchards, which requires management to increase habitat heterogeneity, and to reduce risks such as mortality associated with mechanical harvest and contamination with pesticide residues. Overall, we recommend that efforts to manage farmland biodiversity should consider the impacts and conservation opportunities of fruit crop intensification.

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“…natural or semi-natural habitats) on the Ortolan Bunting using the line-transect method inspired by Bibby et al (2000) and successfully applied in several similar studies (e.g. Guyot et al 2017, Rime et al 2020. This method consists of following a predefined path called a transect across the study area and annotating each observed bird precisely on a map.…”

Section: Landscape-scale Habitat Preferences Using Line Transect Surveysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat preferences of the Ortolan Bunting (Emberiza hortulana) in its prime wintering grounds, the cereal‐dominated Ethiopian Highlands

Gremion

Marcacci

Mazenauer

et al. 2021

Ibis

Self Cite

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Agricultural intensification and land‐use changes are major factors impacting farmland biodiversity. The Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana is the long‐distance trans‐Saharan migratory passerine that has undergone the most dramatic decline among all European farmland birds. The factors responsible for this decline may originate from the breeding grounds, migration stopovers and/or overwintering quarters. Very little is known about conditions on the species' wintering grounds, but a recent study has highlighted the utmost importance of the traditionally managed agroecosystems in the Ethiopian Highlands as a key wintering area, apparently harbouring as much as 90% of the world's Ortolan Bunting population. Using radiotracking and line transect surveys, this study aimed to provide fine‐grained information about species–habitat relationships in the Ortolan Bunting overwintering quarters. Our results showed the importance, at the landscape scale, of small‐scale agriculture, notably of traditionally managed, cereal‐dominated fields interspersed with semi‐natural structures. At a foraging‐site scale, on the other hand, patches of bare ground in combination with large areas of post‐harvesting stubble represented key habitat features. Stubbles provide an essential food resource and bare ground promotes ground foraging by enhancing food accessibility. The maintenance of a traditional agricultural economy will be essential to maintain the habitat potential for the Ortolan Buntings overwintering in the Ethiopian Highlands and will be instrumental in preserving its world population from further decline.

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Landscape heterogeneity and management practices drive habitat preferences of wintering and breeding birds in intensively-managed fruit-tree plantations

Cited by 13 publications

References 69 publications

Single-row exclusion nets: an alternative pest control method with no detectable impact on breeding bird assemblages in orchards bordered by hedgerows

Single-row exclusion nets: an alternative pest control method with no detectable impact on breeding bird assemblages in orchards bordered by hedgerows

Preserving wintering frugivorous birds in agro‐ecosystems under land use change: Lessons from intensive and super‐intensive olive orchards

Habitat preferences of the Ortolan Bunting (Emberiza hortulana) in its prime wintering grounds, the cereal‐dominated Ethiopian Highlands

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