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Influence of agri-environment scheme options on territory settlement by Yellowhammer (Emberiza citronella) and Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra)

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Abstract

Conserving farmland birds is a key objective for agri-environment schemes (AES) across Europe, with a number of management options aimed at providing invertebrate food and nesting habitats. We analysed territory settlement by two widespread but declining farmland buntings with contrasting nesting requirements: the Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella, a boundary-nesting species, and the Corn Bunting Emberiza calandra, a ground-nesting species. The study was conducted on farms participating in the English Higher Level Stewardship scheme to test whether territory settlement is influenced by the provision of key arable AES options. Both species settled preferentially in localities containing sown arable field margins, while Corn Bunting also settled in localities containing nectar flower mixtures. These preferences are likely to reflect foraging rather than nesting habitat requirements. Yellowhammer selected territories containing hedgerows under AES management, which are nesting rather than foraging habitat but may also provide food. Uptake by land owners of several AES options likely to provide limiting resources for farmland birds was very low, and because uptake at the landscape scale is also low, wider-scale population level benefits are likely to be constrained. However, this is one of few studies demonstrating selection of widely applied arable AES options by breeding farmland birds.

Zusammenfassung

Umweltschutzprogramme in der Landwirtschaft und ihr Einfluss auf die Besiedlung durch Goldammern ( Emberiza citronella ) and Grauammern ( Emberiza calandra ) Die Erhaltung der Vogelwelt von Agrarlandschaften ist überall in Europa ein primäres Ziel landwirtschaftlicher Umweltschutzprogramme und beinhaltet eine ganze Reihe von Management-Optionen zur Erhaltung von Nistarealen und auch von Wirbellosen als Futterquelle. Wir analysierten die Besiedelung von Farmland bei zwei weit verbreiteten, jedoch rückläufigen Ammernarten mit unterschiedlichen Nestbau-Anforderungen: die Goldammer, eine Art, die an Waldrändern und im Gebüsch nistet, und die bodenbrütende Grauammer. Unsere Untersuchung wurde auf Farmen durchgeführt, die am English Higher Level Stewardship-Programm teilnehmen. In diesem Programm soll festgestellt werden, ob eine Besiedlung durch die Vögel von der Umsetzung spezieller landwirtschaftlicher Umweltschutzprogramme beeinflusst wird. Beide Ammernarten siedelten sich bevorzugt in solchen Arealen an, in denen die Ackerraine eingesät worden waren, während die Grauammern auch in Arealen mit einer Mischung unterschiedlicher Blütenpflanzen siedelten. Diese Vorlieben spiegeln aber wohl eher Anforderungen an die Nahrungssuche als an Nistareale wider. Die Goldammern bevorzugten Flächen mit Hecken, die im Rahmen von Umweltschutzprogrammen angelegt worden waren und sich eher als Nistgebiete eignen, aber für die Nahrungssuche ebenfalls gut sind. Nur sehr wenige Landbesitzer in der Landwirtschaft waren bereit, ausgewählte Schutzprogramme umzusetzen, die Feldvögeln begrenzte Ressourcen geboten hätten, und da die Bereitschaft auch auf Landschaftsebene recht niedrig ist, sind positive Auswirkungen für größere Populationen vermutlich eher begrenzt. Nichtsdestotrotz ist dies eine von nur wenigen Untersuchungen, die zeigt, dass Feldvögel bestimmte, weit verbreitete Umweltschutzmaßnahmen im landwirtschaftlichen Bereich für die Besiedlung bevorzugen.

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Acknowledgments

This project was funded by Natural England under the Action for Birds in England partnership. We thank all the fieldworkers who collected data and contributed to GIS digitisation, especially Charlotte Corke, Robert Curtis, Jeremy Fern, Tom Reynolds, Elwyn Sharpes, Alistair Smith, Roger Taylor, John Tucker and Andrew Wilkinson. We are also very grateful to the farmers and landowners for access to their land and useful discussions throughout the course of the project. We thank three anonymous reviewers for improving an earlier version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Malcolm D. Burgess.

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Communicated by T. Gottschalk.

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Burgess, M.D., Bright, J.A., Morris, A.J. et al. Influence of agri-environment scheme options on territory settlement by Yellowhammer (Emberiza citronella) and Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra). J Ornithol 156, 153–163 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-014-1113-1

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