The emigration of peoples from the area of Western Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Balkans civil conflict and implications for the Avifauna (Case study Pašića polje at Bosansko Grahovo)

Abstract

We compare the avifauna between two peeriods, before and after Balkans civil conflict in a region of Western Bosnia, the municipality of Bosansko Grahovo. The present study investigated bird-abundance in 3 habitats (lokalites) of the area Pašića polje: 1) Settlements/village Luka, 2) Pastures, 3) Meadow and Agricultural land. Thirty years of data on bird numbers in breading season (from 20th May until end of June) were analysed. By doing this we were able to capture the overall changes that happened at the landscape level and understand them in terms of ecological processes taking place at the habitat scale. Forty-six bird species were observed. We detected more species and more individuals in the period between 2004 and 2018. Our study demonstrated that abundance of the bird sgnificantly different before and after the Balkans civil conflict. Abundance of 35 species was different in the two study periods and during the first period the mean abundance was mostly lower than in the second one. Two species disappeared from the investigated localities, E. citrinella and A. campestris, while several species expanded their range or nesting site. The big decline in the Pašića polje region of some species such as the O. oenanthe, the M. alba, on the pastures, and the P. domesticus and P. pica in the settlements, can be explained by outmigration and changes in land use patterns, or non-use. Rural emigration has been complete (all population) during Balkans civil conflict and a smaller part of the population returned only after 3-5 years. Most of the changes observed support the hypothesis that the differences observed in the bird community are caused by the changes that occurred in the vegetation as a result of agricultural and grazing abandonment.