Farmland habitat selection of wintering lesser kestrels in a Spanish pseudosteppe: implications for conservation strategies

The lesser kestrel Falco naumanni is a globally threatened species, whose breeding populations seem to have declined due to recent agricultural changes. However, nothing is known about habitat requirements during winter, despite the fact that several populations are overwintering in areas affected by agricultural transformations. We studied population size and habitat selection by wintering lesser kestrels in a Spanish pseudosteppe (Los Monegros), where traditional fallow systems for cereals are rapidly being replaced by intensive and/or irrigated crops. About 15% of the adult population wintered in the study area, as determined by systematic roadside counts compared with accurate censuses made during the breeding season. Wintering lesser kestrels preferred to forage on field margins and stubble, while avoiding abandoned fields, ploughs, scrubland, growing cereals and, mainly, the expanding irrigated crops. This work confirms the need to incorporate the habitat requirements of threatened species over their complete annual cycles; while breeding lesser kestrels scarcely use fallow (ploughed at that time), during the winter, fallow (stubble at that time) is their main foraging habitat. Both fallow land and the present agricultural calendar should be maintained to assure the conservation of wintering lesser kestrel populations.     

Between land abandonment and agricultural intensification: habitat preferences of Red-backed Shrikes Lanius collurio in low-intensity farming conditions

Capsule The conservation of Red-backed Shrikes on farmland habitats depends on extensive farming conditions.

Aims To evaluate breeding density and habitat preferences of the declining Red-backed Shrike and relate its occurrence to an environmental gradient ranging from land abandonment to intensive farming.

Methods The study was carried out in the Apennines (northern Italy), at nine 21-ha study plots. We identified factors affecting breeding density and habitat preferences at two spatial scales (landscape and territory) and analysed the variation in territory density according to the relative farming intensity in a low-intensity agricultural landscape.

Results The presence of shrubs and cultivated/grazed land positively influenced the number of Red-backed Shrike territories per plot, while the species' settlement within plots was related to higher values of shrub cover and the presence of hedges. Shrike occurrence was associated with land-use categories intermediate between land abandonment and intensive agriculture.

Conclusions This study provides a first detailed assessment of Red-backed Shrike habitat requirements in southern Europe. Favoured habitats were pasture/cultivation mosaics flanked by or interspersed with shrubs/hedges (15–20% of the surface of the 1-ha medium-sized territory). Thus, the conservation of Red-backed Shrikes in low-intensity southern European farmland appears to reflect a trade-off between agricultural intensification and long-term land abandonment.     

Bats are Not Birds – Different Responses to Human Land‐use on a Tropical Mountain

Land‐use intensification has consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, with various taxonomic groups differing widely in their sensitivity. As land‐use intensification alters habitat structure and resource availability, both factors may contribute to explaining differences in animal species diversity. Within the local animal assemblages the flying vertebrates, bats and birds, provide important and partly complementary ecosystem functions. We tested how bats and birds respond to land‐use intensification and compared abundance, species richness, and community composition across a land‐use gradient including forest, traditional agroforests (home garden), coffee plantations and grasslands on Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Furthermore, we asked how sensitive different habitat and feeding guilds of bats and birds react to land‐use intensification and the associated alterations in vegetation structure and food resource availability. In contrast to our expectations, land‐use intensification had no negative effect on species richness and abundance of all birds and bats. However, some habitat and feeding guilds, in particular forest specialist and frugivorous birds, were highly sensitive to land‐use intensification. Although the habitat guilds of both, birds and bats, depended on a certain degree of vegetation structure, total bat and bird abundance was mediated primarily by the availability of the respective food resources. Even though the highly structured southern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro are able to maintain diverse bat and bird assemblages, the sensitivity of avian forest specialists against land‐use intensification and the dependence of the bat and bird habitat guilds on a certain vegetation structure demonstrate that conservation plans should place special emphasis on these guilds.     

Modelling the effects of irrigation schemes on the distribution of steppe birds in Mediterranean farmland

Research conducted in several Mediterranean areas indicates that most populations of steppe birds are currently experiencing population declines associated with intensification of traditional agricultural practices. By using habitat suitability modeling (HSM), our aim was to use available environmental data sets, including land use and relief, to model the current distribution of nine steppe bird species in the agriculture dominated areas of the Catalan Ebro basin (northeast Iberia). We then employ HSM to quantitatively assess the future impact of land use changes on the potential distribution range of these species under two scenarios following irrigation of present extensive cereal steppes in the area. HSM analyses showed a close association between steppe bird distribution and the extent of extensive cereal agriculture in flat areas. Although the sensitivity to planned irrigation schemes was species specific, we estimated significant decreases in distribution after irrigation for seven of the nine species examined, i.e. the Little bustard, the Montagu's harrier, the Roller and the Calandra lark, the species predicted to be more severely affected by predicted decreases in area exceeding 50%. Overall, core steppe habitats where most valuable steppe species may co-occur are expected to be mostly impacted and decrease by 74 to 81% after irrigation of only 28 to 36% of the cereal cropland in the region. Future maintenance and survival of viable populations of steppe birds will rely on our ability to enlarge the network of protected areas and to implement agri-environmental measures targeting current species core habitats in low-intensity farmland.     

Low-Intensity Agricultural Landscapes in Transylvania Support High Butterfly Diversity: Implications for Conservation

European farmland biodiversity is declining due to land use changes towards agricultural intensification or abandonment. Some Eastern European farming systems have sustained traditional forms of use, resulting in high levels of biodiversity. However, global markets and international policies now imply rapid and major changes to these systems. To effectively protect farmland biodiversity, understanding landscape features which underpin species diversity is crucial. Focusing on butterflies, we addressed this question for a cultural-historic landscape in Southern Transylvania, Romania. Following a natural experiment, we randomly selected 120 survey sites in farmland, 60 each in grassland and arable land. We surveyed butterfly species richness and abundance by walking transects with four repeats in summer 2012. We analysed species composition using Detrended Correspondence Analysis. We modelled species richness, richness of functional groups, and abundance of selected species in response to topography, woody vegetation cover and heterogeneity at three spatial scales, using generalised linear mixed effects models. Species composition widely overlapped in grassland and arable land. Composition changed along gradients of heterogeneity at local and context scales, and of woody vegetation cover at context and landscape scales. The effect of local heterogeneity on species richness was positive in arable land, but negative in grassland. Plant species richness, and structural and topographic conditions at multiple scales explained species richness, richness of functional groups and species abundances. Our study revealed high conservation value of both grassland and arable land in low-intensity Eastern European farmland. Besides grassland, also heterogeneous arable land provides important habitat for butterflies. While butterfly diversity in arable land benefits from heterogeneity by small-scale structures, grasslands should be protected from fragmentation to provide sufficiently large areas for butterflies. These findings have important implications for EU agricultural and conservation policy. Most importantly, conservation management needs to consider entire landscapes, and implement appropriate measures at multiple spatial scales.     

The role of fallow in habitat use by the Lesser Kestrel during the post-fledging period: inferring potential conservation implications from the abolition of obligatory set-aside

The maintenance of fallows has been shown to prevent the loss of farmland biodiversity caused by agricultural intensification. These are mainly introduced as part of both obligatory and voluntary set-aside schemes. However, the obligatory set-aside has recently been abolished by the Common Agricultural Policy Health Check. In this study, we examine the role of fallow in fine-grained habitat use by a threatened farmland bird (Lesser Kestrel) during summer in northwestern Spain. To analyze Lesser Kestrel occurrence, we used generalized linear models, a theoretic-information approach and a hierarchical partitioning analysis. The best AIC-based models explaining occurrence of Lesser Kestrels showed that fallow was the more important habitat type followed, to a lesser extent, by dry cereal stubble and field margin. In contrast, irrigated crops negatively influenced occurrence. Heterogeneity of crop mosaic was not important in explaining occurrence of Lesser Kestrel. Fallows, like dry cereal stubbles and field margins, seem to be suitable for foraging given the abundance of high food resources and their availability due to shorter vegetation cover. The abolition of the obligatory set-aside could reduce the total surface of fallow land (approximately 40.9%), likely affecting habitat use by Lesser Kestrel through an increase of other non-preferred crops (e.g., irrigated crops) or by decreasing food resources. Agri-environment schemes focusing on the maintenance of low-intensive farming systems with a mosaic of crops and semi-natural habitats interspersed should be promoted in premigratory areas to maintain Lesser Kestrel.     

Common cranesGrus grus and habitat management in holm oak dehesas of Spain

Changes in agricultural policies have favored tree clearing and removal of shrubs to favor intensive farming in the holm oakQuercus ilex dehesas of Iberia. The effect of these changes for bird species wintering in this agricultural landscape has been rarely analyzed. Here the effects are studied of farming changes in traditional holm oak dehesas on population size, social structure and time budget of common cranesGrus grus in eight traditional wintering sites in Spain. The role of acorn availability, the principal winter food of the species, in relation to management is also assessed. The number of cranes in each wintering area was not related to degree of agricultural intensification, nor to the availability of acorns. However, crane flock size decreased, and the relative occurrence of isolated family groups increased in less intensively transformed wintering areas characterized by the predominance of fallow lands. The age composition of crane flocks varied with acorn availability since more juveniles were reported in areas with relatively lower acorn availability. Time budget was also related to acorn availability, since cranes spent relatively more time preening in those wintering areas with higher availability of acorns. Globally evidence suggests the need to maintain the fallow land (posíos) to sustain the wintering populations of cranes in Iberia, since this agro-grazing system maintains most of the juvenile cranes using the western migratory route.     

Biodiversity and fish farming intensification in French fishpond systems

Fishponds are artificial ecosystems in which biodiversity may be strongly affected by fish farming management. We studied biodiversity variation along a gradient of fish farming intensification within a 180-pond sample of a French region to establish whether biodiversity primarily depended on extensive management with the alternative hypothesis that some habitat characteristics could compensate for the effect of intensification. We compared the relationships of three biodiversity indicators (breeding birds, protected plants, macrophytes) to an index of intensification and to habitat characteristics likely to influence each indicator. In all selected indicators, species richness did not vary according to the composite intensification gradient. Protected plant richness was best explained by periodic drainage, which could thus benefit biodiversity in intensified fishponds provided that shallow littoral areas are still present. Bird richness was linked to macrophyte cover and probably to reed bed areas. Macrophyte richness and coverage were negatively influenced by low water transparency and high fish biomass which seemed likely to affect bird habitat above 350–400 kg/ha. Aquatic vegetation, which may reflect interactive effects of environmental factors and fish farming management, may then contribute to assessment of the ecological status of fishponds under the E.U. Water Framework Directive.     

Agricultural land-use and the spatial distribution of granivorous lowland farmland birds

Current agricultural practices are believed to have contributed to the declines of many farmland bird species, especially seed‐eaters, throughout Europe. We investigated associations between the spatial distribution of fourteen granivorous farmland bird species and agricultural land‐use in Britain, using breeding bird atlas data and national agricultural statistics. Analyses were spatially referenced by 10x10 km square and variation due to broad‐scale geography and spatial auto‐correlation was controlled for. Generalized linear modelling analyses were used to select models describing variation in distribution explained by the available land‐use variables. The results show that relationships between distribution and agriculture tend to be species‐specific, but that some general effects can be identified. Features of intensive arable farming including large areas of sugar beet, wheat and oilseed rape tended to be associated with low frequencies of occurrence for 9–11 species, while large areas of younger (re‐seeded) grassland and high sheep stocking densities were associated with low frequencies in pastoral farmland for up to 12 species. One key feature of lower intensity farming, the presence of larger areas of fallow land, was positively related to frequency index for up to 11 species. The proportion of barley sown in spring and agricultural diversity were each associated with a range of complex relationships with frequency index across species, probably reflecting combinations of positive influences and artefacts of scale and geography. A variable describing the heterogeneity of farmland (the extent to which it is a mix of arable and pastoral land‐use) was negatively related to frequency index for eight species, but other results suggested that farming which is mixed at a smaller spatial scale is widely beneficial. The results reveal relationships between agriculture and the occurrence of granivorous farmland bird species which suggest both hypotheses for the causes of population change and directions for management action. However, data on several key features of agricultural practice (such as pesticide use) were unavailable, so their effects could not be tested, and the effects of the variables included could not be separated from those of other factors which are subject to complex geographical variation. Experimental comparisons of the effects of land‐use at the farm scale are needed to investigate such confounded influences on farmland bird occurrence.     

Comparison of land cover and farming intensity-based models for mapping High Nature Value farmland in Cyprus

ABSTRACT

Capsule: Breeding bird survey data were used to compare biodiversity at sites defined as High Nature Value farmland (HNVf) under two different mapping models.

Aims: To examine whether farmland classified as HNVf was important for bird diversity and conservation of priority bird species in Cyprus, through comparison of two different HNVf maps. The HNV concept aims to define biodiversity-rich farmland and facilitate its protection and management. Heterogeneous, low-intensity cropping and grazing systems are important areas for biodiversity conservation in Europe and for birds in particular, but are threatened by abandonment and agricultural intensification. We compared two HNVf mapping systems, a simpler model based on land cover data (CLC map) and a more complex Cyprus Environment Department model (ED map) including layers relating to agricultural intensity.

Methods: Line transect bird surveys were carried out to compare bird diversity, abundance of farmland bird species of conservation priority and also of the endemic Cyprus Warbler Sylvia melanothorax, at sites classified as HNV or not.

Results: A greater diversity of breeding birds was found in sites classified as HNVf under combined ED and CLC maps. However, for the set of 12 priority bird species, neither HNV mapping approach encompassed their overall abundance, but a combined CLC and ED model did predict higher abundances of the Cyprus Warbler. Vineyard sites were found to be associated with high overall breeding bird diversity, but with low abundance of priority bird species.

Conclusion: We identified weaknesses in both mapping systems, with the ED model failing to capture all HNV grazing land and the CLC model defining some intensive farming systems as HNV. We conclude that the overlap between the two models best captures HNVf, but layers encompassing grazing land and priority habitats need to be added to better define HNVf in Cyprus and facilitate its protection and management.     

Bird communities in traditional wood-pastures with changing management in Eastern Europe

Wood-pastures are fragile ecosystems because they were formed by, and depend on specific, low-intensity multifunctional management. Although their ecological and cultural significance is high, wood-pastures are rapidly deteriorating all over Europe, mainly due to changing land use. We still lack a basic understanding of the ecological value of wood-pastures, and in which features they differ from other landscape elements. In this paper we investigated the ecological value of wood-pastures for passerine birds by (i) comparing bird assemblages of wood-pastures with those of closed forests and open pastures and (ii) exploring the relationships between variables describing wood-pastures and species traits of the bird assemblages. Our study region (Southern Transylvania, Romania) provides a unique opportunity to understand the importance of a traditional cultural and ecological environment for many different organisms. Wood-pastures had a higher overall number of bird species, and a higher spatial turnover in bird community composition than closed forests and open pastures. We found significant associations between bird species traits and habitat structural elements in wood-pastures such as large trees, oak- and pear trees and shrubs. Our findings suggest that traditional wood-pastures in Southern Transylvania have distinct and rich passerine bird communities. This richness is inextricably linked to the multifunctional, low-intensity land use traditionally applied in the wood-pastures that promotes high niche diversity. For effective conservation of the biodiversity of wood-pastures, a detailed understanding is needed of how different management regimes may influence the key structural elements of wood-pastures relevant for biodiversity and these should be protected.     

Bird communities in habitats along a successional gradient: Divergent patterns of species richness,specialization and threat

The long history of human influence on northern temperate landscapes has created a mosaic of successional stages, from closed forest to open grassland. Various species thus adapted to different habitats and it is interesting to explore how these differences in species composition among particular successional stages translate into differences at the community level. For this purpose, we surveyed breeding birds in 233 patches of five different habitats covering a gradient from bare ground to forest in 29 abandoned military training sites scattered throughout the Czech Republic. Linear mixed effects modelling revealed that late-successional habitats (dense scrubland and forest) were the most species-rich, whereas early-successional stages hosted bird communities with the highest habitat specialization and threat level. These results suggest that the habitats of late-successional stages are important for the maintenance of high bird species richness, but that early-successional habitats are essential for highly specialized and threatened bird species. Given the highly adverse impacts of agricultural intensification and land abandonment on open habitats, it is necessary to promote factors creating initial successional stages suitable for specialized and threatened species.     

Restoration and management of machair grassland for the conservation of bumblebees

Machair is a grassland habitat that supports nationally rare species including the bumblebee species Bombus distinguendus and Bombus muscorum. Changes in land management practices have resulted in a loss of floral diversity in some areas, reducing the availability of bumblebee foraging resources. In order to determine the most effective way of increasing forage plant availability on degraded machair, a restoration trial was established in western Scotland and comprised four seed mixes and a fallow treatment. Treatments were monitored over 3 years in order to compare the relative abundance of bumblebees and their forage plants. Two mixes contained wildflower species; one mix is currently used to create bird and bee foraging habitat on nature reserves and the fourth is a commercially available grass mix. There was little variation in inflorescence and bumblebee abundance between treatments early on but marked differences emerged later in the season in all 3 years. By the end of the monitoring period, the wildflower treatments contained between four and eighteen times more inflorescences than other treatment types. Similar trends were observed in bumblebee abundances. Some of the rarest bumblebee species exist primarily in areas that have largely escaped agricultural intensification. In these areas it is important that habitat management is specifically targeted and translated into appropriate agri-environment schemes. We suggest that the most effective method for restoring bumblebee forage plants on machair is to sow wildflower-rich seed mixes and this should be combined with late cutting and winter grazing practices to maintain sward diversity over time.     

The effects of grassland management using fire on habitat occupancy and conservation of birds in a mosaic landscape

Prescribed burning is routinely used to improve grazing in Pyrenean rangelands affected by an overall trend of land abandonment. This study considers the environmental variables influencing habitat occupancy by birds and the consequences of the use of fire in range management for bird conservation. Bird use and habitat structure of 11 cover types, the result of specific management regimes, were monitored for two breeding seasons in a mosaic landscape. Three main gradients of avian composition, corresponding to tree cover, shrub volume and grazing intensity, were identified from canonical correspondence analysis. The structure of the bird community seemed more intensely affected by species-specific selection of cover types than by the birds' use of multiple patches. Out of a total of 10 bird species analysed by a simultaneous confidence intervals procedure, four species with an unfavourable conservation status in Europe (Emberiza cia, Lullula arborea, Saxicola torquata and Lanius collurio) preferred managed grassland. Three types of grassland with shrubs (derived from single or repeated burning) had the highest bird conservation index (taking into account specific status and abundance of the bird assemblage), whereas forests showed middle or low values. The relation (P = 0.054) of this index to the logarithm of the pastoral value (which includes density and grazing quality of grasses) in currently managed cover types suggests that the objectives of grassland recovery by appropriate management practices and those of bird conservation coincide in our study area.     

Raptor distribution in relation to landscape composition in semi-arid Mediterranean habitats

1. Breeding sites of raptors were studied in relation to land-use and edge habitat using two different scales in semi-arid Mediterranean landscapes in south-eastern Spain. Habitat relationships were analysed using Generalized Linear Models.
2. The proportion of forest cover at a small scale was the best predictor for all species. At a larger scale, the proportion of forest cover was also a good predictor, and the amount of edge habitat between forest and extensive agriculture was a very good predictor of booted and short-toed eagle densities.
3. Models for sedentary species of raptor were similar using both scales whereas trans-Saharan migrant raptors seemed to be more sensitive to larger landscape features that included longer edges between forest and extensive agriculture.
4. Habitat mosaics created by forestry and traditional farming were especially important for Mediterranean raptors. Strengthening of the Agri-environmental Regulation (2078/92) will be necessary to compensate for agricultural intensification proposals promoted under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).     

Values and perceptions of landowners within remaining breeding territories of Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata in Ireland

Habitat loss and degradation have been identified as some of the main threats to breeding Curlew (Numenius arquata) across much of Europe. In Ireland, marginal habitats such as rough or wet grasslands and peatlands have been fragmented or degraded by activities including afforestation, drainage and intensification. The management implemented by landowners directly affects Curlew breeding territories. However, the values and perceptions held by landowners whose lands contain Curlew breeding territories, or the factors driving the decisions behind farming practices in these areas are rarely considered when looking at the causes of changes in these bird populations. This study, as part of the Curlew Conservation Programme established in 2017, gathered data through the distribution of questionnaires to landowners found within three kilometres of Curlew breeding territories in Ireland. In this study, we identify the current land uses being employed in Curlew breeding territories, and query future projections of land use in these areas. We investigate landowners’ perceptions of the requirements to sustain favourable environments for breeding Curlew. We also explore landowner values with respect to farming. The landowners in this study identified habitat loss and predation as the main drivers for Curlew declines. The majority of farming systems in this study were cattle rearing, the sustainability of which is under threat across Ireland. The results indicate that these landowners are not financially motivated, however, the availability of financial aid and expert advice are listed by landowners as requirements for traditional farming practices to continue. These results give an insight to the lifestyle, values and perceptions owners of land adjacent or within Curlew breeding territories. This information can be used to design Curlew conservation programmes that align with these values.     

Vegetation and songbird response to land abandonment: from landscape to census plot

While intensification of human activities and its ecological effects in many natural areas have recently received much attention, land abandonment in marginal areas is still the largely ignored side of a process rooted in the same socioeconomic context. Decreasing human impact in marginal rural areas often triggers a recovery of seminatural vegetation. Over a period of 25 years, we studied the changes in landscape and vegetation structure that followed land abandonment in a traditional Mediterranean mosaic of crops, grasslands, shrublands and woodlands, and assessed their effects on songbird occurrence and distribution. We combined an analysis of vegetation changes based on aerial photo interpretation with an analysis of bird censuses from 1978, 1992 and 2003 at two spatial scales: landscape and census plot (respectively 2800 and 3 ha). The perceived temporal changes in the vegetation were scale dependent. At the landscape scale, open habitats tended to disappear and woodlands matured. The contrasts in vegetation structure that defined habitat patches at the onset of the study tended to disappear. There was an overall shift of the bird community in favour of woodland species. At the scale of the census plot, however, the colonization by woody vegetation of patches formerly characterized by a homogeneous grass cover increased the local diversity of the vegetation, at least temporarily. Of seven species dependent on open habitats, the occurrence rate of five species significantly decreased, whereas it increased for two species: woodlark (Lulula arborea) and melodious warbler (Hippolais polyglotta). This increase was linked to the transitional increase in local vegetation diversity. In patches originally dominated by woodlands, local vegetation diversity decreased as woody vegetation expanded into clearings. The occurrence rate significantly increased for seven species relying on closed woodlands, while it decreased for two woodland species. As most species of high conservation profile in the Mediterranean are tied to open or to heterogeneous transitional habitats, these trends raise questions concerning their persistence in the future.     

The potential of military training areas for bird conservation in a central European landscape

European biodiversity has suffered from serious declines during the past few decades, with alterations of land use practices resulting in a loss of fine-scale habitat heterogeneity being a dominant driver. This heterogeneity was maintained by extensive landscape management, which has gradually been replaced by either intensive exploitation or land abandonment. It has been suggested that military training can generate habitat heterogeneity that may support the existence of species of conservation concern, but studies rigorously testing the real importance of military training areas for biodiversity are lacking. Here we address this issue by analyses of two datasets. First, we compared land cover classes between all large military training areas (MTAs) and surrounding control areas (CAs) of the same size in the Czech Republic using multivariate redundancy analysis. We found that the difference in land cover between MTAs and CAs was significant and represented the strongest gradient in land cover classes: from various farmland and artificial habitats typical for CAs to forest and scrubland-grassland mosaic typical for MTAs. Second, we selected one of these areas and compared bird species richness between the MTA and the nearby CA using generalized linear mixed effects models. We found that the number of species of conservation concern was significantly higher in the MTA than in the CA. With respect to habitats, bird species richness was significantly higher in the MTA than in the CA for open habitats, but not for forest habitats. Our results are thus consistent with the view that military training creates areas that are different from the surrounding landscape in terms of land cover, and that this difference translates to a suitability for species of conservation concern. It is remarkable that the positive influence of military training is confined to open habitats, which are subject to the most intensive military activities and also suffer the highest degree of deterioration in European landscapes.     

Effects of livestock farming on birds of rural areas in Europe

In the last decades, profound modifications of agricultural practices occurred in Europe, including the introduction of modern livestock farming. These modifications negatively affected the fauna of rural areas, as indicated by the large demographic declines suffered by several populations of birds typical of these habitats. The impact of agricultural practices on bird populations has been widely investigated, while the effect of livestock farming has seldom been assessed. To fill this gap, we carried out a quantitative meta-analysis of the existing scientific literature and evaluated the size of the effects of livestock farming on birds of rural areas in Europe. We only found 26 papers on this topic, from which 72 effect sizes could be estimated. The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) was the species on which most studies focused. Livestock farming positively influenced presence and distribution of barn swallows in breeding habitats, while it did not significantly affect reproduction of this species. Effects on other bird species typical of rural habitats were non-significant. The positive effect on the insectivorous barn swallow might be mediated by the enhanced insect abundance where livestock is reared. In addition, habitat features typical of rural settings where livestock is reared (e.g. cattle-sheds or large hayfields) positively affected barn swallows independently of actual presence of livestock at a setting. Presence of livestock at rural setting therefore seems beneficial to barn swallows, but not significantly to other bird species typical of rural habitats. The effect of livestock farming on birds of rural habitats has been under-investigated to date.     

Wildlife-friendly farming benefits rare birds, bees and plants

Agricultural intensification is a leading cause of global biodiversity loss, especially for threatened and near-threatened species. One widely implemented response is 'wildlife-friendly farming', involving the close integration of conservation and extensive farming practices within agricultural landscapes. However, the putative benefits from this controversial policy are currently either unknown or thought unlikely to extend to rare and declining species. Here, we show that new, evidence-based approaches to habitat creation on intensively managed farmland in England can achieve large increases in plant, bee and bird species. In particular, we found that habitat enhancement methods designed to provide the requirements of sensitive target biota consistently increased the richness and abundance of both rare and common species, with 10-fold to greater than 100-fold more rare species per sample area than generalized conventional conservation measures. Furthermore, targeting landscapes of high species richness amplified beneficial effects on the least mobile taxa: plants and bees. Our results provide the first unequivocal support for a national wildlife-friendly farming policy and suggest that this approach should be implemented much more extensively to address global biodiversity loss. However, to be effective, these conservation measures must be evidence-based, and developed using sound knowledge of the ecological requirements of key species.