The introduction of subsidies for grassland conservation in the Italian Alps coincided with population decline in a threatened grassland species, the Corncrake<i>Crex crex</i>

Brambilla, Mattia; Pedrini, Paolo

doi:10.1080/00063657.2013.811464

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Also in our study area, modern hay-making is resulting in a drastic decline (sometimes eventually leading to local extinction) of once very common meadow birds breeding on the ground (e.g. C. coturnix, C. crex, A. arvensis, A. trivialis, S. rubetra, and E. citrinella;Brambilla & Pedrini, 2013;Pedrini et al, 2005; this study).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Toward the next Common Agricultural Policy reform: Determinants of avian communities in hay meadows reveal current policy's inadequacy for biodiversity conservation in grassland ecosystems

Assandri

Bogliani

Pedrini

et al. 2019

Journal of Applied Ecology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

1. Semi-natural grasslands are among the richest European ecosystems in terms of biodiversity. However, they have been severely affected by farming intensification and land abandonment, which have been both exacerbated by the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The most recent CAP included a "greening" measure dedicated to grassland conservation, presumed to be beneficial to biodiversity; however, scientific evidence about its effectiveness is still scarce.2. In the Alps, hay meadows have undergone dramatic management changes in recent decades. We used a comprehensive community ecology approach to highlight how the multi-scale and interacting effects of such changes impact birds, with the aim of providing knowledge to support improvements to the CAP. 3. Birds were surveyed at 63 landscape units in northeast Italy, equally subdivided into areas dominated by (a) extensive hay meadows, (b) intensive hay meadows, and (c) areas formerly dominated by meadows but partially converted into other agricultural land use. This environmental gradient mirrors in space the temporal gradient of the agricultural changes that have recently occurred in the Alps.4. Community composition, species richness, and the number of meadow-specialist species were analysed according to environmental predictors (i.e. landscape, meadow management, and topography), and to spatial factors. We aimed to disentangle the exclusive and joint fraction of variation explained by each of them. Meadow conversion, allowed by the CAP in force, created a shift in communitycomposition towards assemblages dominated by generalist species at the expense of meadow specialists. The cover of intensive meadows was negatively correlated with species richness, whereas the number of meadow specialists was negatively correlated with the cover of early-mown (i.e. within the third week of June) meadows. Mowing date was, in turn, related to elevation, with meadows at higher elevations mown later in the season, and to meadow intensification (the use of external inputs, in particular liquid manure, leads to earlier and more frequent cuts per year). | 605Journal of Applied Ecology ASSANDRI et Al.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Toward the next Common Agricultural Policy reform: Determinants of avian communities in hay meadows reveal current policy's inadequacy for biodiversity conservation in grassland ecosystems

Assandri

Bogliani

Pedrini

et al. 2019

Journal of Applied Ecology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…On the other hand, from 1954 there was a the reduction of priority habitats and species typical of open areas. Many bird species of agro-ecosystem have been reported to be threatened by such changes [54], including the capercaillie, black grouse but also the corncrake (Crex crex) [55] a priority species for European Union.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Landscape Change in the Alps—What Postcards Have to Say about Aesthetic Preference

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Land use changes in the Alps over the last few decades have been characterised by a significant increase in forest coverage as a result of the abandonment of marginal agricultural sites. Natural afforestation and species protection laws affected the ecosystem, and therefore the services provided by the mountain environment, including landscape structure and aesthetics, changed. This work assess the changes in the ecosystem services offered by forests since 1954 in a region of the Italian Alps. Some ES were estimated in this work with GIS, and others were taken from the literature or the authors’ previous works. Since the 1950s, forest ecosystem services such as growing stock, protection from hydro-geological hazards and carbon storage have increased. Deer and other forest species have risen in number. On the other hand, there has been a depletion of open space for priority habitats and species such as black grouse and capercaillie. Old postcards were used to understand land use change and people’s aesthetic preferences. To determine people’s preferences for the landscape, we used records of over 300,000 postcards, sold during nearly two decades. The most often chosen postcard portrayed a landscape of the 1970s with a mix of forest and open space, different from the scenario that the buyers could observe. The sales records for over 20 years of postcard business and the dates of the postcards that we obtained in this research allowed us to perform a quantitative analysis of landscape preferences. The main subject of the photo was a good predictor of the number of postcards sold, according to generalised linear models (GLM); and postcards of overly exploited landscapes, dense forest coverage or buildings were significantly less likely to be chosen. Artificially reinstating open areas will boost biodiversity and could recreate a landscape that resembles the historical agro-ecosystem without interfering with the forest’s other functions. These findings will help managers and policy makers evaluate cultural ecosystem resources in the face of changing mountain landscapes.

show abstract

“…They should be mown no more than once a year and not earlier than 15 August. Cover areas may promote landscape-scale habitat heterogeneity and thereby keep the area attractive for Corncrakes (Brambilla & Pedrini 2013, Dorrestijn et al 2015. Furthermore, they may provide an opportunity to produce a second clutch by some individuals in the population, which is an important condition for a stable population (Green et al 1997, Green 2010.…”

Section: Conclusion and Recommendations For Future Conservation Effortsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preserving an obscure bird: achievements and future challenges of Corncrake (Crex crex Linnaeus, 1758) conservation in Hungary

Szentirmai

Boldogh

Nagy³

et al. 2016

Ornis Hungarica

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Szép 2016. Preserving an obscure bird: achievements and future challenges of Corncrake (Crex crex Linnaeus, 1758) conservation in Hungary. -Ornis Hungarica 24(2): 1-17.Abstract The Corncrake is a strictly protected species in Hungary and a qualifying species of many natura 2000 sites. Despite its Least concern global conservation status, it receives much attention and was elected as "Bird of the Year" by MME BirdLife Hungary in 2016. In this paper, we estimate its population trends and analyse the suitability of the protected area system and agri-environment schemes for the species. We compiled information on major threatening factors and conservation measures applied for the species. We reviewed international publications on the ecology and conservation management of the species to extract information for practical conservation. We estimated that 500-2000 pairs of Corncrakes breed in Hungary. Although their breeding sites are well covered by protected areas, natura 2000 sites (42%) and High Nature Value Areas (67%), their population has declined by 55% over the last 20 years. We found that most of the major threatening factors are addressed by conservation management, and appropriate measures are applied in most cases. Recent research findings and recommendations by the BirdLife International Corncrake Conservation Team suggest that mowing of grasslands around nesting places should be delayed until 1-15 August either in the entire field or at least on 2 hectares around nests. Prescriptions of agri-environment schemes should also be adjusted to the above requirements and more farmers should be encouraged to enrol in Corncrake conservation programmes. We strongly suggest that more emphasis should be devoted to combat important threats for the most important breeding sites such as aridification and flooding.Összefoglalás A haris fokozottan védett faj, és jelölőfaja számos natura 2000 területnek Magyarországon. Annak ellenére, hogy globálisan nem veszélyeztetett, hazánkban mégis jelentős figyelmet kap, és a Magyar Madártani és Természetvédelmi Egyesület programjában is elnyerte a 2016-os "év madara" címet. Jelen tanulmányban megbecsültük jelenlegi állománynagyságát, és elemeztük annak változásait, valamint vizsgáltuk, hogy mennyire megfelelő a védett és natura 2000 területek, valamint a Magas Természeti Értékű Területek (MTÉT) elhelyezkedése a haris számára. Összegyűjtöttük a faj számára legjelentősebb veszélyeztető tényezőket, és az érdekében alkalmazott természetvédelmi intézkedéseket. Felkutattuk a nemzetközi szakirodalmat, és kigyűjtöttük azokat az ökológiai és természetvédelmi biológiai információkat, melyek segíthetik a faj gyakorlati védelmét. Eredményeink szerint hazánkban 500-2000 pár haris költ évente. Bár a védett, natura 2000 (42%) és MTÉT (67%) területek nagy arányban fedik le a haris költőhelyeit, állománya mégis 55%-kal csökkent az elmúlt 20 év során. A természetvédelmi intéz-kedések reagálnak a faj legfőbb veszélyeztető tényezőire, és az alkalmazott kezelések többsége is megfelelő. A legfrissebb kuta...

show abstract

The introduction of subsidies for grassland conservation in the Italian Alps coincided with population decline in a threatened grassland species, the CorncrakeCrex crex

Cited by 10 publications

References 35 publications

Toward the next Common Agricultural Policy reform: Determinants of avian communities in hay meadows reveal current policy's inadequacy for biodiversity conservation in grassland ecosystems

Toward the next Common Agricultural Policy reform: Determinants of avian communities in hay meadows reveal current policy's inadequacy for biodiversity conservation in grassland ecosystems

The Landscape Change in the Alps—What Postcards Have to Say about Aesthetic Preference

Preserving an obscure bird: achievements and future challenges of Corncrake (Crex crex Linnaeus, 1758) conservation in Hungary

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About