Open Agricultural Landscape Research Articles

Comparison of hunting site strategies of the common buzzard Buteo buteo in open landscapes and along expressways.

The expansion of human activities in their many forms increases the frequency, diversity, and scale of human-wildlife interactions. One such negative form is the expansion of road infrastructure, causing road kill and traffic-related noise as well as habitat loss and fragmentation. Even so, habitats around road infrastructure are attractive foraging areas that attract certain bird species. We assessed the impact of road infrastructure on the foraging strategies of the common buzzard Buteo buteo. Birds were observed during two winter seasons in two land-use types, along an expressway and an open agricultural landscape. Individual birds were tracked for a 10-min sequence as a separate sample was analysed. The material, covering 1,220 min along the expressway, and 1,100 min in the agricultural landscape, was collected. Time spent by buzzards on medium-height sites was higher along the expressway than in farmland. Buzzards changed their hunting sites following the mean wind speed. Also, they more often changed their sites along the expressway than in farmland. The land-use types, snow cover, and the mean wind speed mediated the number of attacks on prey. These results illustrate the high plasticity of the buzzards' behaviour, which can adapt their hunting strategies to both foraging locations (expressway and farmland) and weather conditions. Roadsides along expressways are attractive foraging areas for this diurnal raptor, so reducing the risk of vehicle collisions with this and other birds of prey may require targeted planning efforts.

Hedgerows interact with forests to shape the abundance of mesopredators and their predation rate on eggs in farmland landscapes

Nest predation is the main cause of reproductive failure, particularly in ground-nesting birds on farmlands. Understanding the links between nest predation and habitat change can help design effective management schemes to constrain the negative impact of predation pressure on birds. However, the mechanisms underlying the relationships between landscape attributes, predator distribution, and nest predation are still unclear. Here, we use an experimental approach to examine the effects of distance to the hedgerow as well as hedgerow and forest densities on the abundance of major mesopredators of ground nests of our study area (i.e., corvids) and on the predation rate of artificial ground nests (n = 2576). We found evidence that landscape configuration influenced predation patterns differently depending on the predator species. Nest predation by corvids was more likely in homogeneous and open agricultural landscapes with a low density of forest and hedgerows, whereas predation by other predators was more likely close to hedgerows. Nest predation by corvids and the abundance of corvids also tended to be lower in landscapes dominated by grasslands. Other variables such as road density and distance to human settlements had contrasted effects on the likelihood of a nest being depredated by corvids, i.e., no effect with proximity to human settlements and decreasing trend with road density. Altogether, our results suggest that landscape features interact with mesopredator distribution and their predation rates of ground nests. Therefore, from a conservation and management perspective, a heterogeneous agricultural landscape that includes a mixture of crops associated with patches of forests, hedgerows, and grasslands offering alternative food to generalist predators should contribute to reducing ground-nesting bird predation.

Status, Breeding Ecology and Conservation of the Imperial Eagle in Austria

The Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca, IE) reaches the western limit of its global breeding in range in Austria. As a result of targeted conservation measures in the Pannonian region, namely Hungary and Slovakia, the species repopulated Austria in 1999, nearly 190 years after its extirpation. Since then, a strong population increase took place and was monitored closely through different species conservation programmes of BirdLife Austria. Apart from the population monitoring, the programmes comprised measures to prevent illegal persecution and the disturbance of breeding territories, the satellite tagging of young IEs and the collection of all mortality data available. By 2023, the Austrian breeding population reached 42 territorial pairs. During the past 25 years, the species, which is classified as “Endangered” on the national Red List, has pushed its continuous breeding range a further 85 km to the west. In the years 2018–2020, a pair occurred even in the floodplain forest of the Danube near Linz but vanished afterwards. The province of Lower Austria, where the species has become established as late as 2008, hosts the majority of the national population today. IEs use different habitat types as nest sites in Austria: the floodplain forests of medium and big rivers (where the recolonization started in the late 1990s) are quite densely populated; apart from that, breeding occurs in open agricultural landscapes and in big forest in dry, hilly terrain of the “Weinviertel” region. Most nests are built on only a few tree species: Populus sp., Quercus sp. and Pinus sp.; other species (Robinia pseudoacacia, Salix sp.) are used only occasionally. Regarding the number of fledged young per pair and the failure rate of nesting attempts, no clear trend could be established but weather patterns in single years seem to affect the number. Especially when combined with human disturbance (agriculture, forestry, hunting, recreation), cold, wet conditions can lead to nest failure. Interestingly, this is reflected in the proportion of abandoned nests when clustered per habitat type. Nests in open, agricultural areas, where disturbance seems to be more frequent, have a lower success rate than those in floodplain or hill forest. According to observations and the collection of prey remains below nest sites, the most important prey species by far is Lepus europaeus. Where Spermophilus citellus and Cricetus cricetus still occur in relevant densities, they are hunted frequently. Birds, such as Phasianidae, Columbidae, Corvidae, or Alaudidae, also comprise a significant proportion of the IE’s diet. Especially in winter, but also during the breeding season, the species uses carrion, particularly adult hares. The satellite tagging activities revealed that illegal persecution is the most important mortality reason for young IE born in Austria. To tackle this problem, activities to fight illegal persecution were expanded and intensified in the frame of the PannonEagle LIFE (LIFE15/NAT/HU/000902) project together with the neighbouring countries. Other relevant mortality reasons are collisions with trains and train infrastructure and collisions with wind power plants. Especially the latter must be closely monitored regarding the necessary expansion of wind farms in the future. As side notes, the monitoring produced interesting findings about the breeding biology of the species e.g., the takeover of an active nest of Buteo buteo and subsequent hatching and adoption of the chick.

Landscape Changes of Rural Protected Landscape Areas in Czechia: From Arable Land to Permanent Grassland – From Old to New Unification?

Abstract The Czech rural landscape is a subject of research because it is affected by both intensification and extensification of land cover. This landscape was influenced in recent decades by political and socio-economic changes; we studied how these changes were reflected in the land cover development in protected areas. We selected ten Protected landscape areas (PLAs) with a significant share of open agricultural landscape and focused on land cover changes from the 1950s till the present with four milestones (1950s, 1990, 2004-2006, 2016-2019). Based on vectorised land cover data, analyses of land cover changes, land cover flows and landscape structure were performed. More than one third of the studied area had changed. Forests dominated and enlarged its extent (from 39 % to 47 %); land cover flow (LCF) from arable land to permanent grassland was the largest process during study period (17% of study area) and it expanded after 1990. Other major LCF is forest spreading on permanent grassland (5 %) and arable land (3 %). Trends of landscape metrics describing landscape structure are ambiguous and differ between PLAs. In total, Shannon’s diversity index (SDI), Shannon’s evenness index (SEI), and Mean Patch Size (MPS) increased and Number of Patches (NumP) decreased. SDI and SEI show improvement through time; however increasing anthropogenic areas are considered as factor contributing to this positive trend, despite the negative role of these categories in ecological stability. MPS and NumP show ongoing homogenization and unification of the landscape; however it differs between PLAs, with some having more favourable conditions and trends towards higher landscape heterogeneity. To conclude, homogenous landscape structure remains present in Czech rural PLAs; however, there has been a huge shift to more extensive agricultural land cover, which is similar to some European protected areas.

Report on the effectiveness of vegetative barriers to regulate simulated fluxes of runoff and sediment in open agricultural landscapes (Flanders, Belgium)

AbstractVegetative barriers are increasingly used to reduce sediment export from cropland and thus mitigate negative off‐site consequences of soil erosion. Here, we report and discuss the effectiveness of vegetative barriers implemented in Flanders (Belgium) to buffer the flows of water and sediment. The three types of vegetative barriers studied are made of straw bales, wood chips or bales of coconut‐ fibre. Based on three simulated runoff experiments performed in the field, we calculated the hydraulic roughness and sediment deposition ratio. Our experiments showed that the barriers made of coconut‐fibre bales performed markedly better than those of straw bales or wood chips (Manning's n values of 1.355, 1.049 and 2.231 s m‐1/3 and a sediment deposition ratio of 19%, 38% and 64% for barriers made of straw bales, wood chips and coconut‐fibre bales, respectively, during the first experiment). These values increased during subsequent experiments demonstrating the effect of sediment accumulating inside the structures. Especially for coconut‐fibre bales, this accumulation increases the risk of runoff bypassing or overtopping the barriers. The barriers mainly retained sand and, to a lesser extent, silt and clay. As vegetative barriers have to be renewed every few years because of the decomposition of organic material, barriers made of locally available materials are more sustainable as a nature‐based solution to erosion. We conclude that although the vegetative barriers made of coconut‐fibre bales are superior in their regulation of flows of runoff and sediment, barriers made of locally sourced materials are more sustainable.

Regularities of spring runoff formation and erosion under the influence of forest and agrotechnical rec-lamation in the southern chernozem of the Volga region

The purpose of the study was to determine the regularities of the spring formation elements of water balance and soil erosion under the influence of a set of anti-erosion techniques based on long-term observations (1964-2020). The research object was created in 1964 on the land of the farm “Vyazovsky”. The complex of anti-erosion techniques consists of two forest strips 300 m apart, reinforced with ditches. The inter-lane space was developed by crop rotations and pasture with the use of mulched crevices to combat, with silting and ice content of cracks. The dose of straw sections at a distance between the slits of 1.4 m – 4.8 t / ha. Forest belts accumulate snow by 33.3% more than open agricultural landscapes, and in low-snow winters, the effect of snow deposition increases by another 20%. Long-term studies of spring runoff on land in the steppe of the Volga upland allowed us to recommend the appropriate values of 10% probability of excess for creating soil protection complexes from erosion: moldboard ploughland – 25 mm, moldboardless ploughland– 47 mm, winter crops и grass pastures – 65 mm. The content of southern chernozem with A+B <0.5 m at the permissible level of erosion equal to 0.3 t / ha is possible when a complex of anti-erosion forest reclamation and agrotechnical techniques is introduced into the technology of crop cultivation. Regression and correlation analysis found that the spring runoff coefficient and spring soil erosion depend on the amount of water reserves in the snow and the degree of protection of land from erosion by anti-erosion techniques by 92-99%.

Wie beeinflusst ein Komposthaufen die lokale Vogelvielfalt? Wirkung eines temporär vorhandenen Strukturelements in der Landschaft

A compost heap in a largely open agricultural landscape in central Baden-Württemberg was investigated over a period of approximately 40 weeks. The area in question is monitored for birds on a weekly basis as part of a long-term study. Thus, a continuous data set on birds is available for the period of its existence as well as for a comparable period in previous years. On this basis, the effect of the compost heap on local bird diversity could be assessed. A total of 22 bird species and 424 individuals were recorded on the compost heap and in its vicinity. In the reference period, 10 species in 48 individuals were recorded in the same area. The compost heap therefore had a clear positive effect on the diversity of the local bird fauna, with the greatest positive effect on carnivorous and herbivorous ground birds and insect predators. The importance of special structures in the landscape, the relevance of compost and manure heaps, and their avoidance on sites which are sensitive to such structures (e.g. through eutrophication) are discussed in general.

European beaver (Castor fiber) in open agricultural landscapes: crop grazing and the potential for economic damage

The European beaver (Castor fiber) has extended its range into most Central European countries over the past 30 years, resulting in increased forestry damage and water management issues. As the number of beavers increases populations become established in new types of habitat. In the Czech Republic, for example, established beaver populations are now found on rivers flowing through agricultural landscapes, where living conditions differ significantly to those found in forest landscapes. To date, there have been no studies on the impact of beavers on agricultural production. The aim of this study was (1) to describe how beavers graze field crops, and (2) to estimate potential damage to agricultural production. This 2-year study examined five beaver territories in agricultural landscapes where crops were separated from watercourses by a narrow strip of bank vegetation. Beavers fed on all crop types grown in their territories throughout the growing period (May–October), peaking from mid-June to mid-July. The beavers clearly preferred oilseed rape, which (along with wheat and barley) represented the largest part of the grazed area. Rape was usually grazed at during vegetation growth and flowering, while cereals were usually grazed from the milk ripe kernel stage to harvest. Damage to agricultural production was up to €20–30 per ind./year. While beaver population density in the agricultural landscape remains low, damage to agricultural production is relatively insignificant; however, field crops clearly represent an important part of the beavers’ diet in such areas, helping them survive in such open landscapes.

The relevance of cloud forest fragments and their transition zones for butterfly conservation in Taita Hills, Kenya

A main driver of biodiversity loss is the transformation of pristine habitats into agricultural land, plantations of exotic trees, and settlements. The cloud forest of the Taita Hills in southern Kenya has suffered under such transformation processes. In consequence, remaining forests are small and isolated and often provide degraded forest habitats. We studied butterfly communities in four habitat types, cloud forest, cloud forest margin, exotic tree plantations, and agricultural land. We counted butterflies along transects during the rainy and the dry season. We assessed species traits for each butterfly species found. The four habitat types harbour distinct butterfly communities with only slight overlap among each other. Community compositions differed between the dry and rainy season. Forest specialist butterflies mainly occurred in the interior of the cloud forest, but were also observable along the forest edge. Species richness was highest at the transition between pristine cloud forest and agricultural land. The butterfly community of open agricultural landscapes was dominated by common and widespread East African savannah species, equipped with more elongated wings compared with those found inside the cloud forest. Exotic tree plantations showed a mixed butterfly species composition, consisting of many common and widespread savannah species, but also forest species with comparatively low specialization. In conclusion, typical cloud forest butterflies are on the need for intact cloud forest patches and cannot be compensated by surrogate habitats, such as exotic tree plantations.

Do agricultural environments increase the reproductive success of White Stork Ciconia ciconia populations in South-Western Poland?

As populations of White Stork Ciconia ciconia have decreased at different rates in Europe, the specific environmental drivers that influence breeding success are a matter of controversy. Here we use body size, blood, and environmental data of a total of 1226 stork nestlings of different ages from a total of 363 nests in three different habitats (meadows, forest-edges, open agricultural landscapes) in S-W Poland to ask whether: 1) natural grassland environments increase the reproductive output in comparison with agricultural landscapes, 2) nestlings from agricultural landscapes differ in health status from nestlings in more natural habitats, 3) differences in environmental stress translate into respective differences in reproductive output and health status of nestlings. There was no significant difference in age corrected body mass and in the temporal increase in nestling mass between the study sites. Clutch sizes were highest and age corrected total clutch mass lowest at the meadow sites while agricultural and woodland sites did not significantly differ. Hemoglobin and red blood cell content were lowest and white blood cell and blood antioxidant concentrations were highest in the meadows indicating higher degrees of environmental stressors. These blood parameters varied strongly among study years. Our study does not confirm that agricultural landscapes are less suited for stork breeding success. We even find some indication of a better health status of nestlings in agricultural environments that might compensate smaller clutch sizes. Our data indicate that reproductive output is multifaceted. As we found some indication of a trade-off between clutch size and health status we argue that only multiple metrics of reproductive success are able to assess the long-term effect of habitat choice on fitness.

Road effects on bat activity depend on surrounding habitat type

The effects of roads on bats are still a poorly documented issue. Most of the available research focuses on large and high-traffic highways, while low-medium-traffic roads are often assumed to have negligible impacts. However, small roads are ubiquitous in landscapes around the world. We examined the effects of these roads, as well as habitat types, on the activity of three bat guilds (short-, mid- and long-range echolocators) and the most common bat species Pipistrellus kuhlii. We performed three bat acoustic surveys between May and October 2015, with these surveys being performed along twenty transects that were each 1000 m long and perpendicular to three roads with different traffic volumes. The surveys were performed in dense Mediterranean woodland (“montado”) and open agricultural field habitats, which were the two dominant land uses. At each transect, bat activity was simultaneously registered at 0, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 m from the road with the use of an ultrasound recorder. According to the generalized linear mixed effects models, the overall activity of bats and of the short- and mid-range echolocators increased with increased distance from the roads and was dependent on the surrounding habitats. In contrast, the long-range echolocators and P. kuhlii were more tolerant to road. Our results also show that the activity was higher in woodland areas, however road verges seem to be a significant habitat in an open agricultural landscape. The major negative effects extended to approximately 300 m from the roads in woodlands and penetrate further into the open field (>500 m). The management of roadside vegetation, combined with the bat habitat improvement in areas that are further from the roads, may mitigate the negative effects. To make road-dominated landscapes safer for bats, the transport agencies need to balance the trade-offs between habitat management and road kill risk.

Little owls in big landscapes: Informing conservation using multi-level resource selection functions

Habitat models are fundamental tools for designing evidence-based conservation measures, particularly for locating sites with high potential for promoting a species' recolonisation and occupancy. However, it remains challenging to respond to both the need for large-scale general rules, and for fine-scale information concurrently. Multi-level habitat models provide all-in-one surfaces that explicitly account for conditional dependencies among single-level selection probabilities. We integrated occurrence data obtained from citizen-science species observation data with radio-tracking data to develop multi-level resource selection functions for the little owl (Athene noctua), a species of conservation concern in Central Europe. The results of our habitat selection analyses confirmed that suitable little owl habitat is located in widely open agricultural landscapes that often exist in the vicinity of human settlements. We mapped habitats at fine resolution (40 × 40 m) over an area covering 77,313 km2 in Switzerland and Baden-Württemberg, Germany. We validated the models with external out-of-sample data, and we demonstrated good predictive ability and transferability over the broad landscape. Overall, a fifth of the modelled landscape was estimated to be suitable for little owls. Habitat suitability scores in Switzerland were generally lower than in Baden-Württemberg due to higher elevation, fewer orchards, and more forest patches. Extant populations currently occupy c. 15% of the potential suitable habitats in Baden-Württemberg, and 2% in Switzerland, suggesting that considerable space for recolonisation is available. However, while Baden-Württemberg offers vast open landscapes, lowlands in Switzerland show narrow swaths of habitat along valleys and lakes. We showed that the simultaneous integration of different levels of habitat selection behaviour into a multi-level habitat suitability map creates a promising tool for conservation planning of endangered species over large geographical areas. Our multi-level model allowed for identification of both large-scale habitat suitability patterns to develop conservation strategies, and fine-scale clusters of high quality habitats where conservation measures can be applied at once, thereby increasing relevance of such all-in-one habitat maps for policy makers, wildlife managers and conservations practitioners alike.

The relevance of vegetation structures and small water bodies for bats foraging above farmland

Bats are known to forage and commute close to vegetation structures when moving across the agricultural matrix, but the role of isolated landscape elements in arable fields for bat activity is unknown. Therefore, we investigated the influence of small isolated ponds which lie within arable fields close to vegetation structures on the flight and foraging activity of bats. Additionally, we compared species-specific activity measures between forest edges and linear structures such as hedgerows. We repeatedly recorded bat activity using passive acoustic monitoring along 20 transects extending from the vegetation edge up to 200m into the arable field (hereafter: edge-field interface) with a small pond present at five transects per edge type (linear vs. forest). Using generalized linear mixed effect models, we analyzed the effects of edge type, pond presence and the season on species-specific flight and foraging activity within the edge-field interface. We found a higher flight activity of Nyctalus noctula and Pipistrellus pygmaeus above the arable field when a pond was present. Furthermore, Pipistrellus nathusii and Pipistrellus pipistrellus foraged more frequently at forest edges than at linear structures (e.g. hedgerows). Additionally, we found three major patterns of seasonal variation in the activity of bats along the edge-field interface. This study highlights the species-specific and dynamic use of forest and hedgerow or tree line edges by bats and their importance for different bat species in the agricultural landscape. Further, additional landscape elements such as small isolated ponds within arable fields might support the activity of bats above the open agricultural landscape, thereby facilitating agroecosystem functioning. Therefore, additional landscape elements within managed areas should be restored and protected against the conversion into arable land and better linked to surrounding landscape elements in order to efficiently support bats within the agroecosystem.

Spatial activity and road crossing abilities in Alces alces and Cervus elaphus: a review (Artiodactyla: Cervidae)

Abstract This review focuses on the aspects of biology of the elk (Alces alces) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) related to disturbance and barrier effect of highways. The information concerning home range size, migratory and dispersal movements and susceptibility to anthropogenic disturbances as well as examples of preferred wildlife passages was reviewed for both species. The disturbance and barrier effects of highways, or more precisely traffic, are different in each species. The red deer is the most susceptible to disturbances and it is even very difficult to encourage to use wildlife passages of any type. On the contrary, the elk, despite its large body size, is very adaptable and able to use relatively small under- and overpasses. Nevertheless, the use of wildlife passages could reduce the barrier effect of highways in both species. Location of wildlife passages should respect the structure of landscape and the passages should be protected from anthropogenic disturbances. The frequency of passages should be approximately one per each kilometer of highway in wooded landscape or one per three kilometers in open agricultural landscape. The minimum recommended width of wildlife overpasses is 40 m and the minimum index of clearance of underpasses is 1.7.

The Spatial Pattern of Teritory on The Landscape-Dwelling Community Juruan Laok Village East Madura

The Madurese community is known as an individual, independent and subsistent corn farming community, identified as having three main territories: residential territory, open space territory and agricultural landscape territory. The distance between clusters of distant residential causes is referred to as individual society as well as independent. The dependence of life on crops causes the distance of dwelling with the agricultural landscape so close that it is called subsistence society. Land-based economic morality, due to the persistence of maintaining spatial territory. So the fundamental question of research is how the third spatial pattern of territory in the village of Laok Madura Madura? The strategy used is ethnography, with qualitative research design. The main data collection methods were in-depth interviews, no open questions, with typical case sampling techniques in four occupancy based on five criteria: civitas, activity, shelter pattern, agricultural landscape pattern and artifacts existence of crop storage object. Internal validation in the form of observation, measurement and architectural documentation, caused by the characteristic of ethnic sub-ethnic of Madura, so that the head of village is not a source of internal validation, but the participant as the owner of the dwelling. The analysis is done by comparing with anthropological-architectural concept, human space concept, also with related theme study. The results obtained at least found the embodiment of the concept of spatial patterns called habitat. The concept of a spatial pattern called habitat consists of: place, environment and landscape. The arrangement of the three forms a hierarchical bubble that places in the environment, while place and environment are in the landscape. Referring to the concept of architectural-anthropological, the hierarchy of these three elements is referred to as: habitat.

Monitoring of colonies and provisioning of rooks with nest material as a potential tool for stabilizing colonies and increasing nesting opportunities in the countryside. Project report

Abstract The rook is a species inhabiting open agricultural landscape whose non-active nests are also used by other bird species for nesting. It is the decline in rook colonies that has been posited as one of the reasons for decrease in the red-footed falcon (Falco vespertinus) population in Slovakia since the 1970s. During the period from 2012 till 2016, four monitorings of rook colonies were carried out in south-western Slovakia (Diakovce, Nitrianska Osada, Sokolce and Tvrdošovce). In the colony at Tvrdošovce, supporting activity involving provisioning of rooks with nest material was under way from 2014 until 2016. While the colonies at Diakovce and Nitrianska Osada have been showing a slight decrease in the number of nesting rooks, despite larger interannual differences the colony at Sokolce has been showing an upward trend. The size of the colony at Tvrdošovce has been stable since the beginning of the supporting activity. This activity had a statistically significant positive effect on the width of rook nests. In 74 cases in the studied rook colonies we have recorded nesting by three other bird species – Eurasian kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) 43.8%, western jackdaw (Corvus monedula) 39.7% and long-eared owl (Asio otus) 16.4%. In 2015 two female redfooted falcons were observed in the colony at Tvrdošovce.

Time and travelling costs during chick‐rearing in relation to habitat quality in Little OwlsAthene noctua

In many bird species, parents adjust their home‐ranges during chick‐rearing to the availability and distribution of food resources, balancing the benefits of energy intake against the costs of travelling. Over recent decades, European agricultural landscapes have changed radically, resulting in the degradation of habitats and reductions in food resources for farmland birds. Lower foraging success and longer foraging trip distances that result from these changes are often assumed to reduce the reproductive performance of parents, although the mechanisms are not well understood. We tested the behavioural response of chick‐rearing Little OwlsAthene noctuato variation in habitat diversity in an agricultural landscape. We equipped females withGPSloggers and received adequate range‐use data for 19 individuals (6063–14 439 locations per bird). In habitats dominated by homogeneous cropland habitats, home‐ranges were over 12 ha in size, whereas in highly diverse habitats they were below 2 ha. Large home‐ranges were associated with increased flight activity (117% of that of birds in small home‐ranges) and distances travelled per night (152%), increased duration of foraging trips (169%) covering larger distances (246%), and reduced nest visiting rates (81%). The study therefore provides strong correlative evidence that Little Owls breeding in monotonous farmland habitats expend more time and energy for a lower benefit in terms of feeding rates than do birds in more heterogeneous landscapes. As nestling food supply is the main determinant of chick survival, these results suggest a strong impact of farmland characteristics on local demographic rates. We suggest that preserving and creating islands of high habitat diversity within uniform open agricultural landscapes should be a key target in the conservation of Little Owl populations.

Conserving wild Arabica coffee: Emerging threats and opportunities

Climate change and emerging pests and diseases are posing important challenges to global crop productivity, including that of Arabica coffee. The genetic basis of commercially used Arabica coffee cultivars is extremely narrow, and it is uncertain how much genetic diversity is present in ex situ collections. Conserving the wild Arabica coffee gene pool and its evolutionary potential present in the montane forests of SW Ethiopia is thus critically important for maintaining coffee yield and yield stability worldwide. Globally, coffee agroforestry helps to conserve forest cover and forest biodiversity that cannot persist in open agricultural landscapes, but the conservation of the wild Arabica coffee gene pool requires other priorities than those that are usually set for conserving forest biodiversity in mixed tropical landscapes. We show how forest loss and degradation, coffee management, in particular production intensification, and the introduction of cultivars, are threatening the genetic integrity of these wild populations. We propose an active land sparing approach based on strict land use zoning to conserve the genetic resources and the in situ evolutionary potential of Arabica coffee and discuss the major challenges including the development of access and benefit sharing mechanisms for ensuring long-term support to conservation.

Numbers, distribution and nest site characteristics of Jackdaw Corvus monedula in Slovenia and its conservation status

Abstract In 2008, a coordinated census of Jackdaw Corvus monedula was carried out to assess breeding population, distribution and nest site selection in Slovenia. Data collection continued for unsurveyed areas in the 2009-2011 period, including information on former colonies and threats. A total of 663-794 Jackdaw pairs were recorded at 86 sites, while total Slovene breeding population was estimated to be in the range of 700-900 pairs. Over one third of pairs were recorded in Central Slovenia, notably the largest city Ljubljana (20.8%), followed by almost a quarter in the Podravje region. Most colonies numbered between 2 and 5 pairs, the largest occupying the Bežigrad district of Ljubljana (82-87 pairs). Large-scale density in geographically more or less uniform areas ranged from 3.65 pairs/10 km2 in the Sava plain to 0.15 pairs/10 km2 in mostly mountainous area in northern Slovenia. The majority of Jackdaws selected buildings for nesting (82.2% of pairs), while nesting in trees occurred less frequently (14.7%) and was almost entirely confined to the two easternmost regions of Slovenia. Nesting in cliffs was recorded at just two sites in Slovene Istria (3.1%). Average colony size differed significantly in relation to nest site type, with colonies in rock walls being on average the largest (median = 9.5 pairs), followed by colonies on buildings (6) and those in trees the smallest (3). Among pairs nesting on buildings, multi-storey residential buildings predominated (34.2%). A substantial percentage of population nested also on churches and tower blocks (14.4% and 13.5%, respectively). The highest percentage of pairs utilised holes in roofs (26.9%), followed by eaves (18.0%) and chimney pots (14.7%). Tree-nesting pairs occupied mostly small woods situated in open agricultural landscape. The most commonly used tree species was Beech Fagus sylvatica (53.1% of pairs) which hosted 14 of the total 16 forest colonies. For Jackdaws nesting in urban parks and avenues, plane trees Platanus sp. were the most important (30.6% of pairs). Their population stronghold was in lowlands, with 88.1% of pairs recorded at elevations under 400 m and the highest living colony in Slovenia at 578 m a.s.l. Jackdaws occurred on at least 54 specific sites in the past but became extinct there or declined severely by the time of this study. A minimum of 217-254 pairs were estimated lost at these sites, constituting a decline of 24% in c. 10-20 years. According to the IUCN criteria, Jackdaw would qualify as Vulnerable (VU) on the Red List of Slovenia. The commonest known cause of extinction/decline is renovation of buildings, a threat that is projected to escalate in the near future.

Current distribution of Cricetus cricetus in Bohemia, Czech Republic (Rodentia: Cricetidae)

Abstract During the period 2012–2016, distribution of the common hamster, Cricetus cricetus, was monitored in Bohemia, Czech Republic. Between the harvest and subsequent field ploughing, i.e. in August and September, we visited all regions in which occurrence of the species after 1990 was reported in previous studies. There, in every square of the K. F. M. E. mapping grid we checked at least four harvested crop fields, i.e., cereals (preferably wheat and barley), sometimes also alfalfa and various vegetables, and examined also field balks and road ditches. In addition, during all parts of the year we recorded hamster road casualties. Also some personal reports by experienced co-workers were used. Altogether, we recorded hamster presence in 290 sites covering 75 K. F. M. E. squares. The area of the hamster occurrence in Bohemia consists of one big and one small sub-areas, most probably isolated from each other. They form a strip ca. 250 km long and mostly ca. 30–60 km wide. It runs from the lowlands along lower reaches of the Ohře river, through the Prague Plateau, lowlands along the Labe river up to the Svitavská pahorkatina Upland. The easternmost confirmed localities were near Svitavy. The altitude of most of the hamster localities varies between 130 and 300 m, in the Pražská plošina Plateau up to 400 m (altitudes of four exceptional localities near Svitavy are between 462 and 503 m). In some lowland regions of Bohemia the hamster is still common and locally abundant. The hamster prefers deeper soils, mostly various types of chernozem, luvisol and cambisol. It avoids moist places and extensive fields of maize and rape. All our hamster localities are situated in plots of the open agricultural landscape covering several tens of square kilometers. The hamster is also able to inhabit ruderal places in the periphery of villages and towns. During the second half of August and first half of September, the number of dead hamsters in roads increased considerably, suggesting that the traffic causes a not inconsiderable portion of hamster mortality.