Grassland versus non-grassland bird abundance and diversity in managed grasslands: local,landscape and regional scale effects |
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Authors: | Péter Batáry András Báldi Sarolta Erd?s |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Zoology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Ludovika tér 2, Budapest, H-1083, Hungary;(2) Animal Ecology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Hungarian Natural History Museum, Ludovika tér 2, Budapest, H-1083, Hungary |
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Abstract: | Declines of West European farmland birds have been associated with intensive agricultural practices, while in Central and
Eastern European countries grasslands still harbour a diverse and unique bird community. However, in these countries comparative
studies on the effects of agricultural intensity on biodiversity are virtually missing. We compared bird communities of paired
extensively and intensively grazed cattle pastures in three different regions of the Hungarian Great Plain. The influence
of grazing intensity, landscape and regional effects were tested on the abundance and species richness of two ecological groups
of bird species (grassland and non-grassland birds), as well as on the abundance of the three commonest grassland bird species
(Skylark, Yellow wagtail, Corn bunting) in linear mixed models. We found significant effects of grazing intensity on the abundance
of grassland birds, which were more abundant on the extensive sites, whereas no effects were found on non-grassland birds.
This could be explained by a closer dependence of grassland birds on grasslands for nesting and foraging, whereas non-grassland
birds only used grasslands opportunistically for foraging. Landscape effect was shown on grassland bird abundance, but not
on non-grassland birds. The regions did affect only the species richness of grassland birds. At species level, the effect
of management was significant for the three commonest grassland species, which were more abundant on the extensive fields
in all regions. Additionally, on Skylark abundance landscape and regional effects were also shown. These findings suggest
that conservation of biodiversity in agricultural systems requires the consideration of landscape perspective to apply the
most adequate management. |
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Keywords: | Grazing Species richness Skylark Yellow wagtail Corn bunting Boundaries |
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