Landscape pattern and census area as determinants of the diversity of farmland avifauna in Estonia

Marja, Riho; Uuemaa, Evelyn; Mander, Ülo; Elts, Jaanus; Truu, Jaak

doi:10.1007/s10113-013-0409-7

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Our results demonstrate the sensitivity of the sets of landscape metrics to describe the potential occurrence of the particular bird guilds. In contrast to the results of Marja et al ( 2013 ), who used three fixed landscape metrics at different scales, we identified sets of landscape metrics distinguishing all guilds with high classification accuracy (higher than 80%), except for the grassland species where the re-classification rate was only 66%. We cannot confirm the conclusion drawn by Uuemaa et al ( 2013 ) in their review on the use of landscape metrics, i.e.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 69%

“…Marja et al (2013) showed that the variation explanation of landscape metrics for farmland bird variables increased with the size of the study area. Similarly, Böhning-Gaese (1997) revealed that the prediction of bird species richness changed with increasing raster sizes (grains).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Obviously, the habitat suitability of different bird species to landscape structure varies depending on the group of species considered and the species assemblage for a given region (Atauri and de Lucio 2001 ). Some studies have shown varying responses of particular guilds to specific landscape metrics (Marja et al 2013 ; Mimet et al 2014 ; Rüdisser et al 2015 ). With the results of our analysis, we introduce a methodology for (i) the differentiation of habitat requirements of guilds for typical habitats in rural areas based on landscape metrics and (ii) the identification of metrics characterizing the overlap in potential habitats of particular guilds using a holistic approach, as suggested, for example, by Marja et al ( 2013 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…the representation of both specialists and generalists within one guild (O’Connell et al 1998). The guild approach has been recommended by several authors for a more holistic assessment of bird communities (O'Connell et al 2000; Karp et al 2011; Marja et al 2013), and guilds have been widely used as indicators of ecological conditions (O'Connell et al 2000; Bryce et al 2002), functional diversity (Tscharntke et al 2008) and the biotic integrity of different land use systems (Karp et al 2011). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the habitat suitability of agricultural landscapes for characteristic breeding bird guilds using landscape metrics

Borges

Glemnitz

Schultz

et al. 2017

Environ Monit Assess

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Many of the processes behind the decline of farmland birds can be related to modifications in landscape structure (composition and configuration), which can partly be expressed quantitatively with measurable or computable indices, i.e. landscape metrics. This paper aims to identify statistical relationships between the occurrence of birds and the landscape structure. We present a method that combines two comprehensive procedures: the “landscape-centred approach” and “guild classification”. Our study is based on more than 20,000 individual bird observations based on a 4-year bird monitoring approach in a typical agricultural area in the north-eastern German lowlands. Five characteristic bird guilds, each with three characteristic species, are defined for the typical habitat types of that area: farmland, grassland, hedgerow, forest and settlement. The suitability of each sample plot for each guild is indicated by the level of persistence (LOP) of occurrence of three respective species. Thus, the sample plots can be classified as “preferred” or “less preferred” depending on the lower and upper quartiles of the LOP values. The landscape structure is characterized by 16 different landscape metrics expressing various aspects of landscape composition and configuration. For each guild, the three landscape metrics with the strongest rank correlation with the LOP values and that are not mutually dependent were identified. For four of the bird guilds, the classification success was better than 80%, compared with only 66% for the grassland bird guild. A subset of six landscape metrics proved to be the most meaningful and sufficiently classified the sample areas with respect to bird guild suitability. In addition, derived logistic functions allowed the production of guild-specific habitat suitability maps for the whole landscape. The analytical results show that the proposed approach is appropriate to assess the habitat suitability of agricultural landscapes for characteristic bird guilds.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10661-017-5837-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 69%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the habitat suitability of agricultural landscapes for characteristic breeding bird guilds using landscape metrics

Borges

Glemnitz

Schultz

et al. 2017

Environ Monit Assess

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“…One limitation of our specific focus is the disregard of scale effects. Marja et al ( 2013 ) found the variation explained between farmland bird variables and landscape metrics to increase with the size of the study area. Similarly, Böhning-Gaese ( 1997 ) revealed that the impact of different habitat types in predicting bird species richness changed with increasing raster sizes (grain) for spatial analyses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regionalizing land use impacts on farmland birds

Glemnitz

Zander

Stachow

2015

Environ Monit Assess

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The environmental impacts of land use vary regionally. Differences in geomorphology, climate, landscape structure, and biotope inventories are regarded as the main causes of this variation. We present a methodological approach for identifying regional responses in land use type to large-scale changes and the implications for the provision of habitat for farmland birds. The methodological innovations of this approach are (i) the coupling of impact assessments with economic models, (ii) the linking of cropping techniques at the plot scale with the regional distribution of land use, and (iii) the integration of statistical or monitoring data on recent states. This approach allows for the regional differentiation of farmers’ responses to changing external conditions and for matching the ecological impacts of land use changes with regional environmental sensitivities. An exemplary scenario analysis was applied for a case study of an area in Germany, assessing the impacts of increased irrigation and the promotion of energy cropping on farmland birds, evaluated as a core indicator for farmland biodiversity. The potential effects on farmland birds were analyzed based on the intrinsic habitat values of the crops and cropping techniques. The results revealed that the strongest decrease in habitat availability for farmland birds occurred in regions with medium-to-low agricultural yields. As a result of the limited cropping alternatives, the increase in maize production was highest in marginal regions for both examined scenarios. Maize production replaced many crops with good-to-medium habitat suitability for birds. The declines in habitat quality were strongest in regions that are not in focus for conservation efforts for farmland birds.

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Wintering waterbird community responses to anthropogenic land cover at multiple spatial scales along the Nile in Egypt

Mossad,

Hof,

Snijders

et al. 2024

Wildlife Biology

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The human population is growing rapidly, increasing pressure on natural habitats. Suitable habitats for resident and migratory waterbirds are, therefore, more threatened. This study analyses how the presence of anthropogenic land cover (urban area and cropland) at multiple spatial scales affects the community composition of waterbirds along the Nile in Egypt. We analysed data collected during the international waterbird census, 2017–2018, combined with data from satellite images on land cover from the same period. The census covered 970 km, compromising 194 transects of 5 km along the River Nile, Egypt. The area includes a broad gradient of human disturbance, making this dataset ideal for assessing effects of anthropogenic land cover on waterbird community composition. We tested whether the waterbird community indices (abundance, species richness, diversity and evenness) and guild composition were associated with urban area and cropland, and other land covers (e.g. grassland, wetland) at spatial scales of 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 m. We recorded over 96000 waterbirds and show that landscape characteristics at larger spatial scales (5000 m) explained more of the species and guilds' presence than smaller scales. Species richness increased with increasing water surface area of the river within the transect and decreased with increasing urban area. Waders were negatively associated with urban area. Overall, the guilds' composition was poorly predicted by anthropogenic land cover and other landscape compositions, probably because species within a guild do not react similarly to increasing human disturbance. The probability of observing red‐listed species decreased with increasing urban area. With this study, we expand on the existing evidence by showing that species richness negatively correlates with anthropogenic pressure, and we highlight the importance of studying the responses of species rather than guilds. Our study shows the relevance of considering the landscape at larger scales (5000 m) while planning for conservation measures.

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Landscape pattern and census area as determinants of the diversity of farmland avifauna in Estonia

Cited by 9 publications

References 24 publications

Assessing the habitat suitability of agricultural landscapes for characteristic breeding bird guilds using landscape metrics

Assessing the habitat suitability of agricultural landscapes for characteristic breeding bird guilds using landscape metrics

Regionalizing land use impacts on farmland birds

Wintering waterbird community responses to anthropogenic land cover at multiple spatial scales along the Nile in Egypt

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