Population trends of farmland birds in Sweden and England: similar trends but different patterns of agricultural intensification

Wretenberg, Johan; Lindström, Åke; Svensson, Sören; Thierfelder, Tomas; Pärt, Tomas

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2006.01216.x

Cited by 163 publications

(126 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…A similar tendency has also been noticed in other countries. In Sweden and Finland, both intensified farming and abandonment of farmland in marginal regions appear to be factors contributing to the decline of sparrows (Wretenberg et al 2006). The Ortolan bunting Emberiza hortulana is a good example of a species that suffered a strong decline in northern and central Europe.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat selection of the Ortolan bunting Emberiza hortulana in Poland: predictions from large‐scale habitat elements

Kosicki

Chylarecki

2011

Ecological Research

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The Ortolan bunting Emberiza hortulana was censused in Poland during the Common Breeding Birds Monitoring Project in [2003][2004][2005][2006][2007][2008][2009]. Data from 683 monitoring polygons, covering in total more than 0.23% of the country, were used in the analysis. Based on the data and environmental information gathered in GIS databases (Corine land cover ''CLC2000 and 2006'' database, digital elevation model ''GTOPO30'' dataset, ''Wordclim'' dataset, and NDVI dataset), we modeled a habitat-and spatial-related variation of the Ortolan bunting's presence. Birds were recorded in 13.2% grid cells. The mean density was 0.5 individual/km 2 . We modeled the spatial presence of birds using multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS). Then models were cross-validated to check their consistency. The environment-use model shows that the Ortolan bunting prefers extensively cultivated farmland dominated by non-irrigated arable fields, small coniferous and mixed forests, complex cultivation patterns, and meadows. The preferred areas are located on lowlands in western and central parts of the country where the climate is the driest and warmest. Such a repeatable spatial pattern model of the population helped to create a predictive map of the Ortolan bunting's presence in Poland. The general rule is that the probability gradient of its presence increases from the northeastern part of the country to the central and southwestern parts of Poland. Additionally, the Ortolan bunting avoids severe continental climate and regions with dense ground-level vegetation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat selection of the Ortolan bunting Emberiza hortulana in Poland: predictions from large‐scale habitat elements

Kosicki

Chylarecki

2011

Ecological Research

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“…The results clearly demonstrate that trends in the abundance of farmland passerines are not predictable between the regions in this study (table 2). Previous studies have considered this where species are shared between the regions [38,39], but considering trait-trend relationships allows this conclusion to be made between continents where there are few-shared species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can traits predict species' vulnerability? A test with farmland passerines in two continents

Pocock

2010

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Species' traits have been used both to explain and, increasingly, to predict species' vulnerability. Trait-based comparative analyses allow mechanisms causing vulnerability to be inferred and, ideally, conservation effort to be focused efficiently and effectively. However, empirical evidence of the predictive ability of trait-based approaches is largely wanting. I tested the predictive power of trait-based analyses on geographically replicated datasets of farmland bird population trends. I related the traits of farmland passerines with their long-term trends in abundance (an assessment of their response to agricultural intensification) in eight regions in two continents. These analyses successfully identified explanatory relationships in the regions, specifically: species faring badly tended to be medium-sized, had relatively short incubation and fledging periods, were longer distant migrants, had small relative brain sizes and were farmland specialists. Despite this, the models had poor ability to predict species' vulnerability in one region from trait-population trend relationships from a different region. In many cases, the explained variation was low (median R 2 ¼ 8%). The low predictive ability of trait-based analyses must therefore be considered if such trait-based models are used to inform conservation priorities.

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“…Grazing and traditional hay making on wet grasslands thus expanded, resulting in a cultural landscape favoring waders [31,32]. However, more recently, wet grasslands have been severely reduced [33,34] through a range of human-induced factors including intensification of agriculture [35,36], hydrological changes [33], eutrophication [30,37], land abandonment [38], forest expansion [39,40], urbanization [41], climate change [42] and land management shifts [43,44]. These factors have resulted in land cover changes that has directly and indirectly influenced species' habitats as well as population structure of species assemblages [34,45,46].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wet Grasslands as a Green Infrastructure for Ecological Sustainability: Wader Conservation in Southern Sweden as a Case Study

et al. 2016

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Abstract:Biosphere Reserves aim at being role models for biodiversity conservation. This study focuses on the unsuccessful conservation of waders (Charadrii) on wet grasslands in the Kristianstad Vattenrike Biosphere Reserve (KVBR) in southern Sweden. Predation on nests and young has been proposed as one reason contributing to the decline of waders. We explored this hypothesis by comparing two landscapes, one with declining (KVBR) and one with stable (Östergötland) wader populations on managed wet grasslands in southern Sweden. Specifically, we tested three predictions linked to predation on wader nests and young, namely that (1) the relative abundance of avian predators and waders; (2) the avian predator abundance; and (3) the predation rate on artificial wader nests, should all be higher in declining versus stable populations. All predictions were clearly supported. Nevertheless, predation may not be the ultimate factor causing wader population declines. We discuss the cumulative effects of landscape change linked to increased food resources for predators, reduced wet grassland patch size and quality. Holistic analyses of multiple wet grassland landscapes as social-ecological systems as case studies, including processes such as predation and other factors affecting waders, is a promising avenue towards collaborative learning for wet grasslands as a functional green infrastructure. However, if governance and management approaches can be improved is questionable without considerable investment in both ecological and social systems.

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Population trends of farmland birds in Sweden and England: similar trends but different patterns of agricultural intensification

Cited by 163 publications

References 33 publications

Habitat selection of the Ortolan bunting Emberiza hortulana in Poland: predictions from large‐scale habitat elements

Habitat selection of the Ortolan bunting Emberiza hortulana in Poland: predictions from large‐scale habitat elements

Can traits predict species' vulnerability? A test with farmland passerines in two continents

Wet Grasslands as a Green Infrastructure for Ecological Sustainability: Wader Conservation in Southern Sweden as a Case Study

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