The Changing Status of Steppe-Land Birds in the Lleida Plain of Catalonia

The potential of fallow management to promote steppe bird conservation within the next EU Common Agricultural Policy reform

“…Our results validate the relationship between TFM and habitat suitability for steppe bird occurrence found by Sanz-Pérez et al (2019), which is further corroborated by the recent increase in the populations of some of the studied species (e.g. the Pin-tailed sandgrouse; Bota et al, 2020;Mañosa et al, 2020).…”

“…Fallow fields under TFM belonged to a local compensatory conservation measure included in the Environmental Impact Assessment of the Segarra-Garrigues irrigation system. The measure consists in the rental and management of fallow fields by the regional government within Special Protection Areas to promote optimal habitat for seven target species, which where the main steppe bird species found in the study area (Table 1; Mañosa et al, 2020). TFM targets bird species considered as steppe specialists because they are especially vulnerable to agricultural intensification and most of them are endangered (Table 1).…”

“…TFM has occurred annually since 2014, and consists of specific agricultural practices (Table 2; Sanz-Pérez et al, 2019). The exact timing and type of agricultural practice are adapted to the target species present in each Special Protection Area to meet species-specific requirements during breeding (Giralt et al, 2018;Mañosa et al, 2020).…”

“…We expected TFM to benefit steppe birds because it targets these species both in spatial location (Mañosa et al, 2020) and management prescription (Table 2; Sanz-Pérez et al, 2019). Steppe birds can be highly specialized; thus, specific measures shaping vegetation structure of fallow fields are essential to meet their requirements (Robleño et al, 2017).…”

“…a Target species of the TFM conservation measure(Mañosa et al, 2020). b European conservation status according to the IUCN Red List assessment for the 27 EU Member States (LC = Least Concern; NT = Near Threatened; VU = Vulnerable; EN = Endangered; BirdLife International, 2015).…”