Abstract
Changes in farming practices over the second half of the twentieth century greatly reduced the extent of natural areas remaining within agricultural landscapes. Field margins and hedgerows have recently been recognized as important habitat in maintaining wildlife diversity and proper ecosystem functioning. Ecotones, defined as the transitionary area of vegetation between woody plant species and the arable crop, are an especially important landscape element for birds and arthropods. In this manuscript, we aimed to evaluate which hedgerow attribute was best at predicting avian densities in a conventional and organic farming landscape. Furthermore, we wished to investigate if these same hedgerow attributes could explain arthropod family density, richness and diversity, and how these were correlated to avian densities. An information theory-based multimodel inference method was used to identify which factors influenced variability in avian densities. Although not always significant, avian densities increased with arthropod richness at our study sites. Ecotone width is the best predictor of avian densities and arthropod richness while percent gap is the most important factor if a manager wishes to increase avian diversity (H’) in hedgerow habitats. Increasing ecotone width benefits both avian densities and arthropod richness that in turn further increases bird numbers in our farming landscape.
Highlights
Over the last decades, field margins and hedgerow habitats have been recognized as being important in maintaining plant and wildlife diversity [1,2]; for birds
We wished to investigate if these same hedgerow attributes could explain arthropod family density, richness and diversity, and how these were correlated to avian densities
Our best models revealed some important factors in understanding the dynamic links between habitat, arthropod richness and avian density and diversity in an organic and conventional farming landscape
Summary
Field margins and hedgerow habitats have been recognized as being important in maintaining plant and wildlife diversity [1,2]; for birds. Managing hedgerow habitats on farmland property is a common way to enhance local bird populations, general biodiversity and ecosystem functioning [6] In such circumstances, understanding the relative importance of the different hedgerow structural attributes is imperative if we are to implement successful and cost effective mitigation strategies aimed at increasing, or at least conserving the wildlife diversity we have left. Another key impact of changing and intensifying farming practices on bird populations in North America has been a reduction in available food resources across the farmed landscape [7].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
