Abstract
Three species of cranes are distributed widely throughout southern Africa, but little is known about how they respond to the changes in land-use that have occurred in this region. This study assessed habitat preference of the two crane species across land-use categories of the self contained small scale commercial farms of 30 to 40 ha per household (A1), large scale commercial agriculture farms of > 50 ha per household (A2) and Old Resettlement, farms of < 5 ha per household with communal grazing land in Driefontein Grasslands Important Bird Area (IBA), Zimbabwe. The study further explored how selected explanatory (environmental) habitat variables influence crane species abundance. Crane bird counts and data on influencing environmental variables were collected between June and August 2012. Our results show that varying land-use categories had an influence on the abundance and distribution of the Wattled Crane (Bugeranus carunculatus) and the Grey Crowned Crane (Belearica regulorum) across Driefontein Grasslands IBA. The Wattled Crane was widely distributed in the relatively undisturbed A2 farms while the Grey Crowned Crane was associated with the more disturbed land of A1 farms, Old Resettlement and its communal grazing land. Cyperus esculentus and percent (%) bare ground were strong environmental variables best explaining the observed patterns in Wattled Crane abundance across land-use categories. The pattern in Grey Crowned Crane abundance was best explained by soil penetrability, moisture and grass height variables. A holistic sustainable land-use management that takes into account conservation of essential habitats in Driefontein Grasslands IBA is desirable for crane populations and other wetland dependent species that include water birds.
Highlights
Cranes inhabit open habitats and are among the world’s most threatened bird families [1,2]
The A1 and Old Resettlement categories supported the majority of the Grey Crowned Crane (Fig 2)
In both A1 and A2 resettlement models, the cultivated habitat was more preferred than the wetland habitat, whereas in Old Resettlement, the wetland habitat was more preferred than the cultivated habitat
Summary
Cranes inhabit open habitats and are among the world’s most threatened bird families [1,2]. Influence of Land Use Disturbance on Cranes Distribution and Abundance paradiseus), Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum) and Wattled Crane (Bugeranus carunculatus) [1,3,4]. Wattled Crane and Grey Crowned Crane species were widespread in Zimbabwe [2,7,8]. The distribution of cranes in the country is largely restricted to wet grasslands of the central plateau area of Zimbabwe, known as the Driefontein Grasslands [2]. This area is one of Zimbabwe’s 20 Important Bird Areas (IBAs), sites that are “hot spots” for bird species diversity [2,5,8,9]. Before the year 2000, the area was divided into large commercial livestock ranches, except one area where people were resettled in 1984, defined as the Old Resettlement in Zimbabwe [2]
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