Moderate livestock grazing of salt, and brackish marshes benefits breeding birds along the mainland coast of the Wadden Sea

Abstract

ABSTRACT Our study investigated how bird species richness and abundance was related to livestock grazing on salt, and brackish marshes, with an emphasis on songbirds, and shorebirds. Survey areas with a high percentage cover of tall vegetation were assumed to have experienced lower livestock grazing intensities than survey areas with a low percentage cover of tall vegetation. This relationship was verified for the tall grass Elytrigia atherica. The species richness, and abundance of birds was related to the percentage cover of tall vegetation on the survey areas. We found that total bird species richness was positively related to the percentage cover of tall vegetation. We also found that all of the investigated species, except Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta), showed a positive relation to the percentage cover of tall vegetation up to a specific percentage of cover. The abundance of investigated songbird species increased up to an intermediate percentage cover of tall vegetation, and decreased at hig...