Breeding Bird Response to Field Border Presence and Width

Conover, Ross R.; Linder, Eric T.

doi:10.1676/08-082.1

Cited by 21 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…The benefits of habitat buffers have been well-documented at the farm scale for breeding (Smith et al 2005a, Riddle et al 2008, Conover et al 2009) and wintering (Marcus et al 2000, Smith et al 2005b, Conover et al 2007 birds. However, mandated national monitoring of CP33 (USDA 2004, Burger et al 2006b) indicated regional variation regarding the impacts of this practice (Evans 2012).…”

Section: National Bobwhite Conservation Initiativementioning

confidence: 99%

Opportunities and challenges to implementing bird conservation on private lands

et al. 2013

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With >70% of the United States held in private ownership, land‐use decisions of landowners will ultimately dictate the future of bird conservation in North America. However, land‐use objectives of landowners vary considerably and present opportunities and challenges for bird conservationists. Innovative strategies incorporating proactive approaches to address educational, financial, social, and economic needs of landowners are required to garner participation in conservation programs and practices to create or enhance bird habitat on privately owned working lands. Farm Bill conservation programs and practices provide unprecedented opportunities to facilitate bird conservation at regional and national scales and frequently serve as the primary vehicle for many non‐governmental organizations to accomplish their bird conservation goals. We identify current challenges and opportunities for bird conservation on private lands and present 4 case studies whereby partnerships with federal agencies, mainly the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service, have proven successful in eliciting positive, measurable outcomes to bird conservation efforts on private lands spanning many North American physiographic regions. The future of bird conservation will increasingly rely upon the ability of federal agencies to prioritize and allocate additional resources to deliver bird conservation programs on private lands and a greater awareness by conservationists of the role of economics in the decision‐making process of landowners. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.

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Section: National Bobwhite Conservation Initiativementioning

confidence: 99%

Opportunities and challenges to implementing bird conservation on private lands

et al. 2013

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“…Campbell et al 2011) including corridors and patches. Although a growing literature documents effects of adjacent habitats on insect communities along edges in a variety of landscapes (Campbell et al 2011 and references therein), little is known about how herbaceous buffers influence bird use of adjacent forest in agricultural landscapes (see Hinsley & Bellamy 2000;Peak, Thompson & Shaffer 2004;Peak & Thompson 2006;Conover, Burger & Linder 2009). In a primarily row-crop agricultural matrix, herbaceous field buffers planted next to woody corridors or forest patch edges could reduce negative edge effects for forest birds, thus increasing species richness of forest birds in these habitats.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of non‐grassland avian guilds to adjacent herbaceous field buffers: testing the configuration of targeted conservation practices in agricultural landscapes

Riffell

Monroe

Martin

et al. 2015

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary1. A substantial part of the world's land base is dominated by agriculture, and forest habitat often consists of discrete patches of forest and linear woody corridors. These natural components provide habitat for some forest birds, but make conservation of these species difficult. In-field practices applied outside forest patches, such as specific juxtapositions of herbaceous field buffers adjacent to forest habitat, could increase avian diversity contributions of existing forest without creation of additional forest habitat. Our prediction was that herbaceous field buffers would increase bird richness in adjacent forest, and we evaluated four potential mechanisms. 2. We used bird count data from a conservation buffer monitoring programme and hierarchical community models to estimate species richness of forest generalist, forest interior and shrubland (edge) species near forest edges with and without adjacent herbaceous field buffers. We accounted for heterogeneity in detection probabilities and forest cover in surrounding landscapes when estimating species-and guild-level responses. 3. Consistent with the drift fence hypothesis, adjacent herbaceous buffers were associated with a modest increase in richness of forest interior birds in woody corridors, but not in forest blocks. Consistent with resource complementation, adjacent herbaceous buffers were associated with modest increases in richness of shrubland (edge) birds in both woody corridors and forest blocks. 4. Across all species and guilds, adjacent buffers were generally associated with greater abundance (e.g. 28 of 39 species), but these increases were also relatively small and highly variable (i.e. overlapping 95% credible intervals). Corroborating existing research, effects of adjacent herbaceous buffers are likely real, but neither pervasive nor strong. 5. Synthesis and applications. Conservation practices targeted to grassland species often produce measurable conservation benefits for target species. However, biodiversity return for investment would be further increased if targeted practices could be deployed in ways that also produce benefits for non-target species in adjacent habitats. Our results suggest that additional benefits for non-target species using adjacent forest habitat are likely to be modest, so conservation planning should focus on species targeted by the conservation practices and avoidance of potential negative impacts on those species when positive benefits to adjacent habitat are weak or lacking.

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“…In addition to reducing water runoff and soil erosion from crop fields, strips and patches of perennial native plants in and around agricultural areas can provide habitat to support native animal populations, including species of conservation concern [58][59][60][61][62][63] . Many bird species respond positively to agricultural conservation practices such as grassed waterways 64,65 , field borders 66,67 , and riparian buffer strips 62,68 ; the general trend among these studies is increased bird presence, abundance and richness where those small habitats are present adjacent to row crops. Compared with monocultures of cool-season grasses, diverse prairie communities are expected to provide higher quality bird habitat and harbor more bird species 65,69,70 .…”

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Using biodiversity to link agricultural productivity with environmental quality: Results from three field experiments in Iowa

Liebman

Helmers

Schulte

et al. 2013

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

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Agriculture in the US Corn Belt is under increasing pressure to produce greater quantities of food, feed and fuel, while better protecting environmental quality. Key environmental problems in this region include water contamination by nutrients and herbicides emitted from cropland, a lack of non-agricultural habitat to support diverse communities of native plants and animals, and a high level of dependence on petrochemical energy in the dominant cropping systems. In addition, projected changes in climate for this region, which include increases in the proportion of precipitation coming from extreme events could make soil and water conservation in existing cropping systems more difficult. To address these challenges we have conducted three cropping systems projects in central Iowa: the Marsden Farm Cropping Systems experiment, the Sciencebased Trials of Row-crops Integrated with Prairies (STRIPs) experiment, and the Comparison of Biofuel Systems (COBS) experiment. Results from these experiments indicate that (1) diversification of the dominant corn-soybean rotation with small grains and forage legumes can permit substantial reductions in agrichemical and fossil hydrocarbon use without compromising yields or profitability; (2) conversion of small amounts of cropland to prairie buffer strips can provide disproportionately large improvements in soil and water conservation, nutrient retention, and densities of native plants and birds; and (3) native perennial species can generate large amounts of biofuel feedstocks and offer environmental benefits relative to corn-and soybean-based systems, including greater carbon inputs to soil and large reductions in nitrogen emissions to drainage water. Increasing biodiversity through the strategic integration of perennial plant species can be a viable strategy for reducing reliance on purchased inputs and for increasing agroecosystem health and resilience in the US Corn Belt. AbstractAgriculture in the US Corn Belt is under increasing pressure to produce greater quantities of food, feed and fuel, while better protecting environmental quality. Key environmental problems in this region include water contamination by nutrients and herbicides emitted from cropland, a lack of non-agricultural habitat to support diverse communities of native plants and animals, and a high level of dependence on petrochemical energy in the dominant cropping systems. In addition, projected changes in climate for this region, which include increases in the proportion of precipitation coming from extreme events could make soil and water conservation in existing cropping systems more difficult. To address these challenges we have conducted three cropping systems projects in central Iowa: the Marsden Farm Cropping Systems experiment, the Science-based Trials of Row-crops Integrated with Prairies (STRIPs) experiment, and the Comparison of Biofuel Systems (COBS) experiment. Results from these experiments indicate that (1) diversification of the dominant corn-soybean rotation with small grains and fo...

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Breeding Bird Response to Field Border Presence and Width

Cited by 21 publications

References 43 publications

Opportunities and challenges to implementing bird conservation on private lands

Opportunities and challenges to implementing bird conservation on private lands

Response of non‐grassland avian guilds to adjacent herbaceous field buffers: testing the configuration of targeted conservation practices in agricultural landscapes

Using biodiversity to link agricultural productivity with environmental quality: Results from three field experiments in Iowa

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