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A territory scale analysis of habitat preferences of the declining Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana |
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| Authors: | Mattia Brambilla Marco Gustin Severino Vitulano Irene Negri Claudio Celada |
| Institution: | 1. Fondazione Lombardia per l'Ambiente, Settore Biodiversità e Aree protette, Largo 10 Luglio 1976 1, I-20822, Seveso, MB, Italy;2. Lega Italiana Protezione Uccelli (LIPU/BirdLife Italia), Via Udine 3/a, I-43122 Parma, Italy;3. Museo delle Scienze, Sezione di Zoologia dei Vertebrati, Via Calepina 14, I-38122 Trento, Italy;4. Lega Italiana Protezione Uccelli (LIPU/BirdLife Italia), Via Udine 3/a, I-43122 Parma, Italy;5. Associazione FaunaViva, Viale Sarca 78, I-20125 Milano, Italy |
| Abstract: | Capsule Ortolan Bunting occurrence is associated with bare ground, Lucerne, shrub cover and hedgerows/tree rows. Aims To assess the habitat features selected by Ortolan Buntings at the territory level in semi-open landscapes, in the northern Apennines of Italy. Methods We mapped territories in ten different plots and built a habitat selection model comparing 52 occupied cells with 52 unoccupied ones (cell size: 1?ha). We built multivariate adaptive regression splines models based on ground-measured variables. Results The model revealed an association with intermediate Lucerne cover (50% of the cell), high shrub cover, bare ground (≥5%) and hedgerows/tree rows (≥25?m/ha). The most important driver of occurrence was bare ground (optimum at 5–20%). Conclusion The maintenance of the mosaic and low-intensity farmed landscape, the promotion of Lucerne and the conservation/restoration of hedgerows/tree rows, may be promoted through the Rural Development Programme. The conservation of bare soil, grassland and shrubs at optimum amount at fine-scale could be the object of an agri-environment scheme targeted specifically at the Ortolan Bunting. |
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