Breeding season responses of Skylarks <i>Alauda arvensis</i> to vegetation structure in set‐aside (fallow arable land)

Henderson, Ian; Critchley, N.; Cooper, J.W.; Fowbert, J. A.

doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.2001.tb04492.x

Cited by 28 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The findings of the present study support previous work showing that both the size of a site and its vegetation structure are important determinants of skylark territory distribution (Batary, Baldi, & Erdos, 2007;Chamberlain, Wilson, Browne, & Vickery, 1999;Donald, Evans, Buckingham, Muirhead, & Wilson, 2001;Wilson et al, 1997) but contradict with the results found by Wakeham-Dawson, Szoszkiewicz, Stern, and Aebischer (1998). This is probably because skylarks tend to select open areas of low vegetation cover as their walking method of foraging is assisted by sparse vegetation (Green, 1978;Henderson, Critchley, Cooper, & Fowbert, 2001;Vickery et al, 2001). found swards 10-20 cm tall supported higher skylark territory densities compared to swards under 10 cm in height, although Toepfer and Stubbe (2001) found a mean vegetation height of between 15 and 60 cm was optimal for broods of skylarks.…”

Section: Breeding Skylark Territory Distribution and Local And Landsccontrasting

confidence: 52%

Influence of habitat quality, landscape structure and food resources on breeding skylark (Alauda arvensis) territory distribution on restored landfill sites

Rahman

Tarrant

McCollin

et al. 2012

Landscape and Urban Planning

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Section: Breeding Skylark Territory Distribution and Local And Landsccontrasting

confidence: 52%

Influence of habitat quality, landscape structure and food resources on breeding skylark (Alauda arvensis) territory distribution on restored landfill sites

Rahman

Tarrant

McCollin

et al. 2012

Landscape and Urban Planning

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“…Similarly, extensive agricultural habitats are probably more attractive than intensive crops because (i) they hold higher plant diversity and arthropod biomass and diversity, providing adult and chick food (Donazar, Negro & Hiraldo 1993;Brickle et al . 2000;; (ii) vegetation is lower, less uniform and/or less dense (Henderson et al . 2001), which might represent a better compromise between protection cover, long-distance vision and mobility.…”

Section:          mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, compulsory mechanical destruction of the green cover on set-asides in May or June risks nest or brood destruction; secondly, 'industrial crops' (e.g. oilseed rape for biodiesel production) are grown on a significant portion of set-asides, especially in France (24% of French set-aside area in 1997-98;European Communities 1995-2000, with limited benefits to grassland birds; thirdly, set-aside policies are subject to changes according to economic pressures (Henderson et al . 2001).…”

Section:     mentioning

confidence: 99%

The benefits of extensive agriculture to birds: the case of the little bustard

Wolff

Paul

Martin

et al. 2001

Journal of Applied Ecology

120

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Summary The little bustardTetrax tetrax is among many birds thought to be declining because of agricultural intensification in western Europe. In contrast with the situation elsewhere, bustard numbers have greatly increased during the last 50 years in the Crau, southern France, as agriculture has been developing. We wished to ascertain which features of agricultural development might have supported this population increase. 2. Using data on habitat-specific densities obtained by surveys of the Crau in 1998 and 1999, we assessed how breeding male little bustards used habitats representing various levels of agricultural intensification. We also documented historical changes in bustard numbers and agricultural trends in the Crau, comparing them with present patterns of habitat use, to determine how changes in farmed landscapes may have driven population trends. 3. Male bustards used natural steppe and extensive agricultural habitats (fallow, grazed crops, legume crops), whereas more intensive agricultural habitats (hay-meadows, grain crops) were little used. Mean densities on extensive agricultural habitats were always high, but densities on steppe varied with landscape composition: densities were low where steppe was dominant in the landscape, but high where steppe and extensive agriculture were mixed. 4. Available literature showed that little bustards settled in the Crau around 1950, after 40% of the original steppe had been converted into arable land. We estimate a current population of 473-539 breeding males. Only 17% of the original steppe remains, but extensive agricultural habitats still represent 30% of arable land. 5. Both historical data and present habitat use suggest that little bustard population trends in the Crau are driven by the development of extensive agriculture. Extensive agricultural habitats may provide little bustards with resources unavailable or scarce in natural steppe. Severe declines in little bustard numbers observed elsewhere could be reversed within a few decades by restoring extensive agricultural habitats. The potential impact of current European agricultural policies is discussed, with special reference to agri-environmental measures and set-aside policy. 6. This work provides an example of an avian species that benefits from cultivated landscapes, providing that they are extensive rather than intensive. We propose a simple conceptual model to illustrate how little bustards, and possibly grassland birds in general, might respond where natural habitats are modified along orthogonal axes representing cultivation and agricultural intensification.

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“…Moreover, birds tend to be high in the food chain and this would help to detect any 'signals' that accumulate through the chain (Furness and Greenwood 1983). Indeed, several authors have underlined the role of birds as biodiversity indicators (Jarvinen and Vasainen 1977;Beintema 1983;Foschi and Gellini 1983;Furness and Greenwood 1983;Henderson et al 2001;Donald et al 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Organic and integrated agriculture: the effects on bird communities in orchard farms in northern Italy

Genghini¹,

Gellini²,

Gustin

2006

Biodivers Conserv

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The objective of this study was to compare the effects of different farming methods on bird communities. In particular, the study surveyed the frequency and number of bird species, the number of individuals and bird diversity (Shannon index) found in organic (o, non use of synthetic pesticides), integrated (i, reduced use of pesticides on the basis of the economic threshold) and conventional (c, conventional use of pesticides) orchards. A simplified version of the mapping method was applied, from May to June 1998, to 60 fruit farms (15o, 19 i, 26c), over a total of 483 ha. Twenty-six bird species were observed (19o, 17i, 18c). Granivorous species were the most abundant and unaffected by pesticide management. Insectivorous species were less abundant in general, but more frequent on o and i farms (chi-square test, p<0.05). Bird diversity was greater in o and i farm management than in c (Tukey test, respectively, p = 0.001 and 0.004). There was a non-significant trend for bird density to be higher in o/i than c orchards (ANOVA, F 2.57 = 2.76, p = 0.07). The results confirm the positive effects of (o) and (i) agriculture on bird communities, including some species of special interest for nature conservation. These effects could be attributed mostly to the different pest management and secondarily to some aspects of environmental differentiation (type of orchard, type of farm, age and height of trees, and increased presence of hedgerows and woodlots). Surprisingly no correlation was observed between hedgerows and woodlots and bird diversity (Pearson test, R = 0.0019).

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Breeding season responses of Skylarks Alauda arvensis to vegetation structure in set‐aside (fallow arable land)

Cited by 28 publications

References 16 publications

Influence of habitat quality, landscape structure and food resources on breeding skylark (Alauda arvensis) territory distribution on restored landfill sites

Influence of habitat quality, landscape structure and food resources on breeding skylark (Alauda arvensis) territory distribution on restored landfill sites

The benefits of extensive agriculture to birds: the case of the little bustard

Organic and integrated agriculture: the effects on bird communities in orchard farms in northern Italy

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