Importance of unmanaged wasteland patches for the grey partridge Perdix perdix in suburban habitats

Šálek, Miroslav; Marhoul, Pavel; Pintir, Jan; Kopecký, Tomáš; Slabý, Lukáš

doi:10.1016/j.actao.2003.10.003

Cited by 37 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The observed patterns with time are consistent with the homogenisation reported in farmland systems during agriculture intensification (Benton et al, 2002;Wretenberg et al, 2006). Reduction or removal of hedges that formerly fragmented the fields has been reported as an important factor in grey partridge population decline, by increasing predation rates of nests, chicks and adults, and reducing arthropod density and thus chick food availability (Potts, 1980(Potts, , 1986Rands, 1985Rands, , 1987Kaiser, 1998;Šálek et al, 2004;Holland et al, 2006). In addition, direct and indirect effects of pesticides (e.g.…”

Section: Explanatory Factorssupporting

confidence: 78%

Long–term variation of demographic parameters in four small game species in Europe: opportunities and limits to test for a global pattern

Gee¹,

Sarasa²,

Pays³

2018

Anim. Biodiv. Conserv.

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Long-term variation of demographic parameters in four small game species in Europe: opportunities and limits to test for a global pattern. For decades, decreases in several populations of some small sedentary game species have been reported in Europe. From the literature, we extracted mortality and reproductive rates that were available for European populations in four iconic species, the grey partridge (Perdix perdix), the black grouse (Tetrao tetrix), the capercaillie (T. urogallus) and the brown hare (Lepus europaeus), to examine how demographic parameters vary with time. Our study revealed the need to consider many confounding factors (age, sex, origin of studied individuals, season, country and methods) and the scarcity of recent demographic studies. Statistical analyses showed contrasted patterns of demographic traits with time within and between species. Our results highlighted that there may be consistency with a population decrease in grey partridge and black grouse that has been reported in the literature. However, analyses in capercaillie and brown hare showed less support for a population decrease at the European scale. The significant effects of interactions between time and age (in grey partridge, capercaillie and brown hare), method or origin of individuals on demographic traits and the emergence of contrasted patterns between short, intermediate and long monitoring periods (in grey partridge and black grouse) suggested that further studies should pay particular attention to potential confounding factors. Finally, the lack of recent data and doubts about the relative importance of reported causal factors indicate the need for further studies on the links between demographic traits, densities and environmental changes in the long term, and particularly on the role of predation and habitat change.

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Section: Explanatory Factorssupporting

confidence: 78%

Long–term variation of demographic parameters in four small game species in Europe: opportunities and limits to test for a global pattern

Gee¹,

Sarasa²,

Pays³

2018

Anim. Biodiv. Conserv.

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“…Lignite mining areas are similar to such other postindustrial sites as stone quarries, extracted peatlands, sand and gravel pits, or suburban landfills, as these produce highly specific habitats with limited nutrients and/or experiencing occasional disturbances combined with temporary abandonment, all of which prevent rapid vegetation development and continuous cover (Brändle, Durka & Altmoos ; Šálek et al . ; Kadlec et al . ; Dulias ; Tropek et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spontaneous succession on opencast mining sites: implications for bird biodiversity

Šálek

2012

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary1. Remediation of lands devastated by industry includes various forms of restoration, such as technical reclamation and spontaneous succession. These management approaches are debated regarding conservation strategies for postindustrial landscapes. Mining areas consisting of early-to late-developmental stages of both reclaimed and unreclaimed sites offer an opportunity to examine the roles of restoration strategies in a complete successional series for biodiversity and disentangle the contributions of particular biotopes available at postindustrial sites. 2. Using linear models and multivariate analysis, I tested the effects of (a) developmental stages from early successional sites to mature forests, combined with (b) the initiation process at the sites, which was either technical reclamation or spontaneous succession, and (c) vegetation cover on (i) species richness, (ii) rarity and (iii) species composition of bird communities on 60 plots (100 9 100 m) within opencast mining areas in the lignite basin of north-western Czech Republic. 3. Bird communities were consistently more species rich on spontaneously developed sites compared with reclaimed sites throughout all stages of the succession series. Species richness increased with site age due to increasing habitat heterogeneity. 4. The conservation value of bird communities was generally lower on reclaimed sites than on spontaneously developed sites and decreased with site age. The most valuable communities developed on early successional sites and native shrublands, because these were inhabited by specialists that were scarce in the surrounding landscape. By contrast, technically reclaimed sites resulted in impoverished communities, usually with narrow spectra of common species. 5. Synthesis and applications. The results highlight the importance of spontaneously established sites and complete succession series for developing valuable bird communities in postindustrial areas such as opencast mining sites. In particular, early successional sites and shrublands create refuges for early successional specialists disappearing from the common landscape and these should be promoted at the expense of reclaimed sites wherever possible. My results support an effort for systematic implementation of early successional sites into conservation practice.

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“…Especially ruderal vegetation, of which cover is significantly higher in farmsteads, provides high diversity of weedy seeds and insects for birds (Hoste‐Danyłow, Romanowski, & Żmihorski, ; Wilson, Morris, Arroyo, Clark, & Bradbury, ) and its importance for declining farmland specialist birds has been repeatedly documented (e.g. Panek & Kamieniarz, ; Šálek, Marhoul, Pintíř, Kopecký, & Slabý, ). In contrast, the surrounding farmland predominantly consists of intensively used large and uniformly managed arable fields or grasslands with a small representation of semi‐natural habitats or ruderal vegetation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Active farmsteads are year‐round strongholds for farmland birds

Šálek

Bažant

Żmihorski

2018

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Farmland birds have experienced substantial declines over recent decades and various conservation measures have been designed to halt their massive decrease. The effectiveness of these measures is however limited, due to inappropriate identification of crucial breeding and wintering habitats. Identification of appropriate habitats, like farmsteads, and understanding seasonal changes in species richness and abundance of farmland birds within these habitats may therefore be key for farmland bird conservation. We investigated the effect of variation in farmstead management on alpha and gamma diversity of all farmland birds and red‐listed farmland birds in the Czech Republic. In particular, we evaluated the diversity of wintering and breeding birds at over 200 sites to explore: (1) differences in bird communities in three types of farmsteads and open farmland; (2) changes in species‐specific habitat preferences between winter and spring; and (3) effect of landscape composition, ruderal vegetation and altitude on bird assemblages. Farmsteads with animal production harboured the highest, whereas open farmland areas had the lowest, species richness and abundance of all farmland birds and red‐listed farmland birds. The decline of species richness in winter was more pronounced in farmland and abandoned farmsteads compared to farmsteads with plant and animal production. Single bird species showed different habitat preferences but the majority of species including red‐listed farmland birds changed preferences towards animal farmsteads during winter. Bird species richness was negatively correlated with altitude and positively with representation of ruderal vegetation. Rarefied gamma diversity confirmed local patterns for both all species and red‐listed species: the highest total species richness was observed in active animal farmsteads but differences among types were significant only during winter. Synthesis and applications. Active farmsteads are local bird diversity hotspots in agricultural landscapes, and host species of conservation concern. Our results highlight the importance of farmsteads during winter, which is a critical period for several wintering farmland species. Our research thus indicates that recent conservation measures for farmland birds should also focus on conservation within non‐farmed habitats, such as actively used farmsteads.

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Importance of unmanaged wasteland patches for the grey partridge Perdix perdix in suburban habitats

Cited by 37 publications

References 23 publications

Long–term variation of demographic parameters in four small game species in Europe: opportunities and limits to test for a global pattern

Long–term variation of demographic parameters in four small game species in Europe: opportunities and limits to test for a global pattern

Spontaneous succession on opencast mining sites: implications for bird biodiversity

Active farmsteads are year‐round strongholds for farmland birds

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