The importance of mires as breeding habitat for wetland birds in Sweden

Abstract

During the last 15 years the bird fauna was censused on 2,250 km2 of mires, which is 10–15% of the estimated total area of larger, treeless mires (>0.5 km2) in Sweden. The total number of bird species breeding on mires increases from 25 in the most southern region (Götaland) to 43 in the most northern region (N. Norrland), but more of the northern species breed at very low densities. Among taxonomic groups, species richness of wildfowl and shorebirds increases with latitude while that of passerines shows no clear trend. One possible explanation for the increased species diversity towards the north may be that northern mires generally have a more complex habitat structure, making more niches available. There was no general geographic pattern in the population density of different species. Wildfowl, birds of prey (including owls) and shorebirds (including the Crane) breed at higher densities in the north while passerines have lower densities. One reason for the higher breeding densities of wildfowl and shorebirds in the north is that mires there to a larger extent consist of fens than do mires in the south. Also, a lower nest predation in the north is a probable reason. Combining all species there was no trend in breeding density. Calculations of population sizes show that 25% of the 44 species recorded have breeding populations of more than 10,000 pairs while 25% have less than 1,000 pairs on mires. Estimates of population sizes in Sweden as a whole for all species breeding on mires show that 11 species have more than 50%, and four have more than 75% of their total Swedish population on mires. These species are especially interesting from a conservation point of view since they may be used as indicators of valuable mires.