Bird communities as bioindicators: The focal species concept in agricultural landscapes

Afforestation programs such as the one promoted by the EU Common Agricultural Policy have spread tree plantations on former cropland. These afforestations attract generalist forest and ubiquitous species but may cause severe damage to open habitat species, especially birds of high conservation value. We investigated the effects of young (<20 yr) tree plantations dominated by pineP. halepensison bird communities inhabiting the adjacent open farmland habitat in central Spain. We hypothesize that pine plantations located at shorter distances from open fields and with larger surface would affect species richness and conservation value of bird communities. Regression models controlling for the influence of land use types around plantations revealed positive effects of higher distance to pine plantation edge on community species richness in winter, and negative effects on an index of conservation concern (SPEC) during the breeding season. However, plantation area did not have any effect on species richness or community conservation value. Our results indicate that the effects of pine afforestation on bird communities inhabiting Mediterranean cropland are diluted by heterogeneous agricultural landscapes.

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Connecting the social and the ecological in the focal species concept: case study of White Stork

Nature Conservation ◽

10.3897/natureconservation.22.12055 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 22 ◽

pp. 79-105 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Jakub Kronenberg ◽

Erik Andersson ◽

Piotr Tryjanowski

Keyword(s):

Species Concept ◽

White Stork ◽

Focal Species ◽

The Social

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Distributions of birds in lowland agricultural landscapes of England and Wales: How distinctive are bird communities of hedgerows and woodland?

Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment ◽

10.1016/s0167-8809(00)00194-8 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 84 (1) ◽

pp. 79-92 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

R.J Fuller ◽

D.E Chamberlain ◽

N.H.K Burton ◽

S.J Gough

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Landscapes ◽

Bird Communities ◽

England And Wales

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Globalisation and Agricultural Landscapes

10.1017/cbo9780511844928 ◽

2009 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Landscapes

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Functional evenness of bird communities varies along the elevational gradient in Europe: Conservation implications

10.32942/osf.io/sx9n8 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Federico Morelli ◽

Yanina

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Elevation Gradient ◽

Bird Species ◽

Elevational Gradient ◽

Negative Association ◽

Bird Communities ◽

Breeding Bird ◽

Bird Species Richness ◽

Large Spatial Scale ◽

Functional Evenness

ContextThe negative association between elevation and species richness is a well-recognized pattern in macro-ecology. ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate changes in functional evenness of breeding bird communities along an elevation gradient in Europe. MethodsUsing the bird data from the EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds we estimated an index of functional evenness which can be assumed as a measure of the potential resilience of communities.ResultsOur findings confirm the existence of a negative association between elevation and bird species richness in all European eco regions. However, we also explored a novel aspect of this relationship, important for conservation: Our findings provide evidence at large spatial scale of a negative association between the functional evenness (potential community resilience) and elevation, independent of the eco region. We also found that the Natura2000 protected areas covers the territory most in need of protection, those characterized by bird communities with low potential resilience, in hilly and mountainous areas.ConclusionsThese results draw attention to European areas occupied by bird communities characterized by a potential lower capacity to respond to strong ecological changes, and, therefore, potentially more exposed to risks for conservation.

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To the issue of water treatment by hydrocyclone on the systems of the combined irrigation

Melioration and Water Management ◽

10.32962/0235-2524-2019-2-21-25 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 0 (2) ◽

pp. 21-25

Author(s):

Nikolay Dubenok ◽

Andrey Novikov ◽

Sergei Borodychev ◽

Maria Lamskova

Keyword(s):

Water Treatment ◽

Organic Compounds ◽

Irrigation Water ◽

Irrigation System ◽

Petroleum Products ◽

Cylindrical Part ◽

Agricultural Landscapes ◽

Treatment Unit ◽

Drain Pipe ◽

Irrigation Network

At the stage of water treatment for irrigation systems, the efficiency capture coarse and fine mechanical impurities, as well as oil products and organic compounds affects the reliability of the equipment of the irrigation network and the safety of energy exchange processes in irrigated agricultural landscapes. The violation of work irrigation system can cause disruptions in irrigation schedules of agricultural crops, crop shortages, degradation phenomena on the soil and ecological tension. For the combined irrigation system, a water treatment unit has been developed, representing a hydrocyclone apparatus with a pipe filter in the case. For the capacity of 250 m3/h the main geometrical dimensions of hydrocyclone have been calculated. To organize the capture petroleum products and organic compounds, it has been proposed a modernization of a hydrocyclone unit, consisting in dividing the cylindrical part of the apparatus into two section. The first is section is for input irrigation water, the second one is for additional drainage of clarified irrigation water after sorption purification by the filter, placed on the disk and installed coaxially with the drain pipe and the pipe filter.

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