Site Landscape Research Articles

Spillover of Agriculturally Subsidized Predators as a Potential Threat to Native Insect Herbivores in Fragmented Landscapes

Habitat loss and fragmentation can have strong negative impacts on populations of some native species. Spillover of generalist natural enemies from the surrounding landscape matrix is one mechanism potentially generating such effects, yet this has been rarely studied in insects. We examined the influence of habitat conversion to agriculture on the abundance and potential effects of predatory coccinellid beetles on native insect herbivores within 12 grassland remnants in central Nebraska (U.S.A.). Results of sweep sampling revealed that coccinellids were three to six times more abundant at native grassland sites embedded within cropland-dominated landscapes compared with control sites in grassland-dominated landscapes over the 3 years of the study. Exclusion experiments further demonstrated that predation intensity was strongly related to coccinellid abundances across sites and that coccinellids can dramatically reduce densities of a native aphid herbivore. In contrast to studies of specialized insect parasitoids, which have generally found reduced enemy pressure in fragmented landscapes, our results suggest that native herbivores may in some cases experience increased consumer pressure in landscapes with increasing habitat loss because of spillover of generalist predators from surrounding cropland habitats.

Are similar landscapes the result of similar histories?

This landscape study was based on the sampling of 20 replicated landscape sites (1 km2 each) that were located within the floodplain of the river Seine. For each site, 13 landscape variables were measured at three dates (1963–1985–2000). The aim of this study was to investigate the overall landscape variability through its different dimensions (space vs. time) and to assess the relative importance of each dimension. We used a new statistical method, i.e., partial triadic analysis (PTA), which allowed us to assess both (1) the spatial variability of the floodplain landscape and its dynamics in time and (2) the dynamic trajectories of the landscape variables for each site. The results showed, at the floodplain scale, the same landscape pattern has emerged since 1963, although a major trend was observed which consisted in a decrease in meadows resulting from an increase in arable crops. At the site scale, landscape sites, even if they were all influenced by this general trend during the 40-year period, showed contrasting trajectories. These results suggest that similar sites in 2000 do not necessarily share common histories and that contrasting sites in 2000 may have originated from similar patterns in 1963. The issue of biodiversity surrogates is then discussed, suggesting that new landscape metrics should be developed, emphasising spatial variability and (or) temporal dynamics.

(35) Foliar Mineral Nutrition of Colorado Spruce Trees after Digging Affects Shoot Growth in the Landscape

The goal of this study was to determine if nutrient treatments applied to Colorado spruce (Picea pungens Engelm.) trees while they were held in a mulch bed one season after digging affected subsequent shoot growth of the trees after they were planted in the landscape. Sixty 1.5- to 1.8-m-tall trees with 61-cm (24-inch) diameter root balls were heeled into a holding bed of fresh pine bark mulch. The nutrient treatments applied to the root balls were a control (pine bark without fertilizer), 114.2 g Osmocote 15–9–12 distributed over the top of the ball (label rate), one Ross Gro-Stake 10–10–10 Evergreen fertilizer spike per ball, one-half cartridge of Ross Root Feeder 10–12–12 evergreen fertilizer injected into the root ball at four points, or a 50:50 mixture (by volume) of Eko Compost mixed with pine bark. After one growing season in the mulch bed, the trees were transplanted to a landscape site. The height increases of the terminal leaders on all trees were determined for the next 2 years. Changes in tree height by the end of the growing season in the mulch bed were unaffected by the nutrient treatments. By fall, needles from trees treated with the mixture of 50:50 compost: bark had the highest levels of foliar N, Mg, Ca, S, Mn, and B. Trees treated with one fertilizer spike had the second-highest levels of foliar N and S. Leaders on trees that received the compost:bark or fertilizer spike treatments grew at least 70% or 36% taller, respectively, than those receiving the other treatments by the end of the second growing season in the landscape. The compost:bark mixture and to some extent the fertilizer spike improved tree foliar nutrition during the first growing season after digging, which later promoted tree height increases in the landscape.

A Mechanistic Approach to Evaluation of Umbrella Species as Conservation Surrogates

Although species with large area requirements are sometimes used as umbrella species, their general utility as conservation tools is uncertain. We surveyed the species diversity of birds, butterflies, carabids, and forest-floor plants in forest sites across an area (1,600 km2) in which we delineated large breeding home ranges of Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis). We tested whether protection of the home ranges could serve as an effective umbrella to protect sympatric species of the four taxa. We also used an empirical habitat model of occupancy of home range to examine mechanisms by which the Northern Goshawk acts as an umbrella species. Among species richness, abundance, and species composition of the four taxa, only abundance and species composition of birds differed between sites located inside and outside home ranges, which was due to greater abundance of bird species that were prey of Northern Goshawks inside the home ranges. Thus, although home range indicated areas with high abundance of certain bird prey species, it was not effective as an indicator of the species diversity of all four taxa. We also did not find any difference in species richness, abundance, and species composition between sites predicted as occupied and unoccupied using the habitat model. In contrast, when we selected sites on the basis of each habitat variable in the model, habitat variables that selected sites either in agricultural or forested landscapes encompassed sites with high species richness or particular species composition. This result suggests that the low performance of the Northern Goshawk as an umbrella species is due to this species' preference for habitat in both agricultural and forested landscapes. Species that can adjust to changes in habitat conditions may not act as effective umbrella species despite having large home ranges.

Diversity Patterns of Bornean Butterfly Assemblages

Borneo contains a diverse rainforest butterfly community, but its forests are under threat from logging and ENSO- (El Nino Southern Oscillation) induced fires. Contrasts in butterfly assemblage structure were examined in nine 450 ha landscapes in logged forest, primary unburned continuous and isolated forest, and forest affected by surface fires during the 1997/98 ENSO event. Temporally the effect of the 1997/98 ENSO event was followed in a single burned landscape from 1997 to 2004. In total, 517 species were present in 190 sampling sites. There was a five-fold difference in species richness among landscapes, with highest richness in continuous landscapes and lowest richness in burned landscapes. Richness was also higher in logged forest than proximate unlogged forest. Temporally, species richness dropped dramatically from 1997 to 1998, but after-wards increased remaining, however, substantially lower than pre-ENSO (1997) sampling. Sites in burned landscapes were distinct from other sites in terms of vegetation structure with the slash-and-burn area the most dissimilar to other landscapes. There was much less structure among unburned landscapes. The pattern of butterfly community composition was similar to that of vegetation structure with the community from the slash-and-burn area the most distinct. However, there was much less overlap among sites from different landscapes. Temporally, 1998 possessed the most distinct assemblage when compared to assemblages from other years. The community composition was, however, slowly returning to a pre-disturbance composition. Variance in community composition explained by environmental and spatial factors differed substantially among landscapes. The spatial fraction was the only explanatory component in recently burned landscapes and a proximate small unburned isolate, but explained no variation in logged landscapes. The environmental fraction explained substantial amounts of variation in logged landscapes and the slash-and-burn area. When all landscapes were pooled high proportions of variation in butterfly community composition were explained by both geographic distance between sites and environmental variables. In contrast when only unburned landscapes were considered, most variation was explained by the geographic distance among them. Despite differences among landscapes there was a general pattern of relatively sharp decline in similarity at short distances that levels out over greater distances, a result that agrees with previous studies on other tropical species assemblages.

Sink habitats can alter ecological outcomes for competing species

Summary Species often compete for breeding sites in heterogeneous landscapes consisting of sources and sinks. To understand how the presence or absence of sink breeding sites influence ecological outcomes, we extend Pulliam's source–sink model to competing species. In a homogeneous landscape consisting of source sites, we prove that one species, the ‘superior’ competitor, competitively excludes the other. Dominance is determined by a simple rule: the species that at equilibrium acquires new breeding sites at a faster rate dominates. We prove that the inclusion of sink sites can alter this ecological outcome by either mediating coexistence, reversing competitive dominance, or facilitating a priority effect. Sink‐mediated coexistence requires the species to exhibit asymmetries in acquiring sink sites, the ‘inferior’ species to have a competitive advantage on sink sites and the ratio of sink to source sites be sufficiently low. For example, if the sink breeding sites are competitive refuges for the ‘inferior’ competitor and not too low in quality, coexistence occurs if the number of sink sites lies below a threshold. Alternatively, when the number of sink sites exceeds this threshold, competitive dominance is reversed and the ‘superior’ competitor is displaced. Counter‐intuitively, despite being unable to support species in isolation, sink habitats embedded in a geographical mosaic of sources and sinks can enhance biodiversity by mediating coexistence or alter species composition by reversing competitive interactions.

Soil Inoculum Potential And Arbuscular Ycorrhizal Colonization Of Acer Rubrum In Forested And Developed Landscapes

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form a symbiotic relationship with numerous landscape tree species and can improve tree growth and environmental stress tolerance. Construction-related soil disturbance is thought to diminish AMF colonization of transplanted trees in newly developed landscapes. We gathered root, soil, and foliar data from red maples (Acer rubrum) growing in newly developed landscape sites and adjacent native forest sites to test two independent hypotheses: (1) landscape trees show lower levels of AMF colonization than forest trees, and (2) the AMF inoculum potential of landscape soils is lower than that of forest soils. Fine roots sampled from landscape maples had significantly lower AMF colonization than maples from adjacent forest sites (3% versus 22%). However, soil­sand mixtures made from landscape soils possessed greater AMF inoculum potential than those made from forest soils (10% versus 4%). Forest soils were more acidic and possessed less extractable P than landscape soils, and differences in AMF colonization between field and landscape maples appeared to reflect differences in soil chemical properties rather than in inoculum potential. The results of this study suggest that not all disturbed landscape soils are deficient in AMF propagules.

(115) Soil Inoculum Potential and Mycorrhizal Colonization of Acer rubrum in Forested and Developed Landscapes

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form a symbiotic relationship with numerous landscape tree species and can improve tree growth and environmental stress tolerance. Construction-related soil disturbance is thought to diminish AMF colonization of transplanted trees in newly developed landscapes. We gathered root, soil, and foliar data from red maples (Acer rubrum) growing in newly developed landscape sites and adjacent native forest sites to test the hypotheses that: 1) landscape trees show lower levels of AMF colonization than forest trees; and 2) the AMF inoculum potential of landscape soils is lower than that of forest soils. Fine roots sampled from landscape maples had significantly lower AMF colonization than maples from adjacent forest sites (3% vs. 22%; P= 0.0002). However, soil-sand mixtures made from landscape soils possessed greater AMF inoculum potential than those made from forest soils (10% vs. 4%; P= 0.0081). Forest soils were more acidic and possessed less extractable P than landscape soils, and differences in AMF colonization between forest and landscape maples appeared to reflect differences in soil chemical properties rather than in soil inoculum potential.

A new landscape leakiness index based on remotely sensed ground-cover data

Abstract A new continuous, cover-based, directional leakiness index, CDLI, is described that has a number of advantages over a binary-based, directional leakiness index, DLI, previously described in this journal. These indices are monitoring tools aimed to indicate the potential for gently sloping, arid and semi-arid landscapes to retain, not leak, resources, such as soils. To compute DLI, pixels in remotely sensed images had to be classified as being either vegetation patches or open interpatches. This simple binary classification procedure is unrealistic for images with relatively large pixels (e.g., 30-m pixel Landsat), where a single pixel is likely to be a mix of denser vegetation patches and more open interspaces. This mix of patch and interpatch within a pixel can be represented as proportional ground-cover. Because CDLI is based on these ground-cover data, which can vary continuously between 0–100%, it is an index of landscape leakiness that is applicable to larger scale, remotely sensed imagery. Using Landsat imagery, we illustrate how CDLI is useful for comparing the potential leakiness of four Australian arid and semi-arid sites differing in rangeland condition. When imagery is available for specific landscape sites through time, CDLI can be used to monitor changes in the potential leakiness of these sites. However, both CDLI and DLI assume that resource flows are one-directional, which restricts their application to images acquired from relatively gentle, uniform landscapes. A leakiness index applicable to landscapes with hilly terrain is being developed.

Ecological requirements of reintroduced species and the implications for release policy: the case of the bearded vulture

Summary Species undergoing reintroduction offer a unique opportunity for clarifying their specific niche requirements because they are likely, if sufficiently mobile, to colonize the most suitable habitats first. Information drawn from the individuals released first might thus be essential for optimizing species’ policy as reintroductions proceed. Bearded vultures were extirpated from the European Alps about a century ago. An international reintroduction programme using birds reared in captivity was launched in 1986; up to 2003, 121 individuals had been released at four different locations. Subsequent dispersion throughout the range has been far from homogeneous, resulting in a clumped occurrence of the first breeding pairs within three main zones that do not necessarily coincide with release areas. In order to discern ecological requirements we performed a geographical information system (GIS) analysis of bearded vulture sightings collected in Valais (Swiss Alps) from 1987 to 2001. This area harbours no release site, is situated in the core of the Alpine range and has been visited by birds from all four release points. During the prospecting phase (1987–94, mostly immature birds), the most important variable explaining bearded vulture distribution was ibex biomass. During the settling phase (1995–2001), the presence of birds (mostly maturing subadults) correlated essentially with limestone substrates, while food abundance became secondary. The selection of craggy limestone zones by maturing bearded vultures might reflect nesting sites that are well protected against adverse weather, as egg laying takes place in the winter. Limestone landscapes, in contrast to silicate substrates, also provide essential finely structured screes that are used for bone breaking and temporary food storage, particularly during chick rearing. Finally, limestone substrates provide the best thermal conditions for soaring. Synthesis and applications. Extrapolated to the whole Alpine range, these findings might explain both the current distribution of the subadult/adult population and the absence of breeding records for bearded vultures around release sites in landscapes dominated by silicate substrates. As reintroduced bearded vultures tend to be philopatric, we suggest that population restoration would be more efficient if releases were concentrated within large limestone massifs. This case study of the bearded vulture illustrates the need for continual adaptive management in captive release programmes.

BLN – wie weiter?: Vorschläge für eine Überarbeitung der Perimeter von BLN-Gebieten | Proposals for a revision of BLN perimeters

An evaluation from the Federal Parliamentary Controlling Office shows that only a low level of protection would be achieved with the implementation of the BLN (a federal inventory of landscape and natural sites of national importance). However, the measures proposed by the Federal Council are insufficient when it comes to improving the situation with regard to weaknesses in implementation and contents. An investigation carried out by the Chair for Nature and Landscape Protection at ETH Zurich makes clear that further efforts are required. The BLN needs to be elevated to a federal business plan and the perimeters of each object revised and adapted to meet current circumstances.

COMPARATIVE FECUNDITY AND SURVIVAL OF BALD EAGLES FLEDGED FROM SUBURBAN AND RURAL NATAL AREAS IN FLORIDA

We compared the reproductive biology, dispersal, and subadult survival of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) from nest sites in suburban and rural landscapes in west-central Florida, USA, from 1997 to 2001. We documented the reproductive outcome of randomly selected suburban (n = 60) and rural (n = 60) bald eagle nest attempts. We also used satellite tracking packages on randomly selected rural (n = 35) and suburban (n = 35) bald eagle fledglings. Nest-site occupancy varied among years (range = 75.0–100.0%), but averaged 90% for nests in both land-use categories. The overall mean nesting start date was similar for both groups (suburban = 11 Dec, rural = 13 Dec). Bald eagles occupying nest sites in both land-use categories raised an average of 1.3 young to 8 weeks-of-age, and pairs that fledged ≥1 young raised an average of 1.7 young to 8 weeks-of-age. Most bald eagle fledglings from our study area migrated northward, some as far as Newfoundland, Canada. The core summering area was the Chesapeake Bay and the coastal plain of North Carolina, USA. Successful fledglings started northward migration earlier on average at rural than at suburban nest sites (124 vs. 132 days-of-age). Survival of both groups was similar until dispersal (approx 91%); however, during the first northward migration, mortality of suburban fledglings increased disproportionately. One year after fledging, survival of rural fledglings was 89% compared to 65–72% for suburban fledglings. Survival of the 2 groups was similar (84–90%) thereafter. Suburban bald eagles died more often from anthropogenic factors (primarily electrocution and vehicle collision) than rural bald eagles, though most of these deaths occurred in rural areas after dispersal from natal areas. We suggest that suburban bald eagle fledglings were more acclimated to dangerous anthropogenic landscape features than rural eagles, and as such did not regard them with the same degree of caution. Despite the difference in first-year mortality, population models suggest that both groups are experiencing positive population growth rates.

Predicting plant species diversity in a longleaf pine landscape

:In this study, we used a hierarchical, multifactor ecological classification system to examine how spatial patterns of biodiversity develop in one of the most species-rich ecosystems in North America, the fire-maintained longleaf pine-wiregrass ecosystem and associated depressional wetlands and riparian forests. Our goal was to determine which landscape features are important controls on species richness, to establish how these constraints are expressed at different levels of organization, and to identify hotspots of biological diversity for a particular locality. We examine the following questions: 1) How is the variance in patterns of plant species richness and diversity partitioned at different scales, or classification units, of the hierarchical ecosystem classification developed for the study area? 2) What are the compositional similarities among ecosystem types? 3) For our study area, what are the sites expected to harbour highest species richness? We used a spatially explicit map of biodiversity to project abundance of species-rich communities in the landscape based on a previously developed ecological classification system for a lower Gulf Coastal Plain landscape. The data indicate that high species richness in this ecosystem was found in sites with frequent fire and high soil moisture. Sites in fire-maintained landscapes with lower frequency of fire were associated with geomorphological characteristics, suggesting a dependence of the diversity-disturbance relationship with soil type. With more frequent fire on some sites, high diversity shifts from canopy component to ground flora, with an overall increase in total species richness. Our approach demonstrates how potential species richness can be identified as a restoration goal and that multiple vegetation endpoints may be appropriate vegetation objectives. We identify basic management needs for the maintenance of biodiversity in this ecosystem that can be derived from an understanding of the combination of factors that most strongly predict diverse plant communities.

Turner à Sisteron

The travel notebooks of William Turner (1775-1857) allow a detailed analysis of the way in which the artist recorded the terrain and transposed to more finished works (drawings and water colors) the forms of a landscape site which had particularly detained him : that of the town of Sisteron and its lateral valley, where, in 1836, he passed while on a trip on the road between Genoa and Grenoble. Many viewpoints, exaggerations of forms of relief, concern with details, sense of space and light, landscape recomposition : all things in which Turner showed great mastery and which the geographer can modestly draw lessons when he or she wants to geographically analyze a landscape.

Effect of Commercial Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi on Growth, Survivability, and Subsequent Landscape Performance of Selected Container Grown Nursery Crops

Abstract This research evaluated the effects of commercially available arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on growth of selected ornamental plant species grown under a nursery-container production system. Subsequent plant survivability and growth in the landscape was also evaluated for two seasons. Acacia greggii, Chilopsis linearis, Diospyros virginiana, Platanus occidentalis, Ipomoea carnea and Plumbago auriculata were inoculated with commercial AMF: EndoNet®, MycorisePro®, or non-inoculated (NonAMF). Platanus occidentalis had a fourth mycorrhizal treatment, which included BioterraPLUS®. EndoNet® and MycorisePro® enhanced growth of C. linearis, I. carnea and P. auriculata during nursery-container production. Growth enhancement of P. occidentalis was significant with BioterraPLUS®, EndoNet® and MycorisePro® compared to NonAMF. During the container phase, greatest colonization (total arbuscules, vesicles/endospores, and intraradical hyphae) occurred with I. carnea and P. auriculata inoculated with EndoNet® and MycorisePro®. After the 1st growing season following out planting, AMF inoculated P. occidentalis and C. linearis had greater growth and AMF inoculated P. auriculata had higher survival than NonAMF plants. However, by the end of the 2nd growing season there were no differences in survival or growth among AMF treatments. The similarity in plant growth during the 2nd season was due in part to a high and active indigenous AMF population in the landscape site that colonized the NonAMF plants after transplanting.

Diversity patterns in butterfly communities of the Greek nature reserve Dadia

Traditionally, nature reserves have been centered mainly around areas that are important for vertebrate diversity. This practice has not gone unchallenged and may be a suboptimal choice for overall conservation planning. To investigate this problem, we sampled butterfly species richness in a nature reserve in north eastern Greece that was originally established for the protection of birds of prey. Patterns of butterfly species richness and abundance were investigated by means of transect walks across a range of the seven predominant habitat types (wet and dry meadow, pine, oak and mixed forest, grazed, and agricultural land). Data analysis, including ANOVA and DCA (detrended correspondence analysis), revealed that the main gradients in butterfly species richness (low to high) were from sites dominated by the pine forest matrix of the core areas of the reserve, to peripheral sites in landscapes of mixed or oak forest, and from sites with little human impact to more disturbed areas with high grazing pressure. Species of conservation interest were concentrated at sites of low human impact. Ten of them are endemic to Europe and/or threatened in Europe. In this respect, the most important species are Lycaena ottomanus, Thymelicus acteon, and Pseudophilotes vicrama which are declining all over Europe. Our results suggest that (1) traditional agricultural practices in areas surrounded by forest can be considered as important management tools in butterfly conservation, (2) highest butterfly species richness is found in the periphery of the reserve rather than in the core areas, and (3) for butterfly conservation the zones surrounding the strictly protected areas are equally important as the core areas.

Floristic composition of two 100 km2 reference sites in West African cultural landscapes

All non‐cultivated, vascular plant species were recorded in two reference sites of each 100 km2 situated in traditionally managed agro‐pastoral landscapes of the Sudanean and Sahelian zones of Burkina Faso, West Africa. The reference sites contained 421 and 267 species, respectively, of which 131 were common to the two sites. Although the reference sites are highly disturbed by human activity they harbour a significant proportion of the plant diversity of the regions due to a high heterogeneity within the sites. Thus, more than one fourth of the flora of Burkina Faso is found in the two reference sites that cover only 0.07% of the country area. The reference sites are characterized by a high percentage of species that are weedy (50–76%), widely distributed (African or pantropical distribution) (84–92%), andor restricted to inundated areas (25–33%). The present case study emphasises the need to conserve wild species in cultural landscapes.

PRIOR BREEDING SUCCESS AFFECTS RETURN RATES OF TERRITORIAL MALE OVENBIRDS

Abstract I examined the hypothesis that male Ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapillus) make breeding dispersal decisions based on prior breeding experience at a site. I determined the reproductive success of color-banded male Ovenbirds at sites in fragmented and unfragmented landscapes in Missouri from 1992–1995. I documented which individuals returned and I recorded their reproductive success upon return as well as the success of birds new to each plot. I obtained similar results in both landscapes. Males with different histories of reproductive success returned at different rates. Only 2 of 22 males that were paired but failed to raise young returned in the following year, whereas the return rates of unpaired males (41%, n = 37) and males that successfully raised young (54%, n = 57) did not differ significantly (P = 0.19). The patterns were more consistent with the hypothesis that return rates were due to decisions about dispersal rather than difference in survival of individuals in these groups. El Exito Reprod...

The impact of agroforestry networks on scenic beauty estimation: The role of a landscape ecological network on a socio-cultural process

The reintroduction of agroforestry networks (via a GIS-supported design procedure) is one of a number of strategies that some authorities of the lagoon of Venice drainage basin (in Italy) are planning to use in order to control lagoon pollution and to achieve landscape amelioration. While attention is paid to the conservation implications and environmental effects of an ecological network, socio-cultural impacts are not generally given the same consideration. The aims of this paper were (1) to assess the impacts of agroforestry network planning outputs on the perception of landscape in terms of scenic beauty (SB) estimation, (2) to analyze the influence of socio-economic variables on the agroforestry role in SB, (3) to analyze the relationships between SB and landscape variables as measured on the local and landscape scales, and (4) to assess the strength of an expert rating SB empirical procedure utilized in the GIS system. The outcomes of the GIS planning procedure application were found to have a positive impact on the perceptive evaluation of landscape, but landscape sites preference did not appear to be significantly different between socio-economic groups: in all cases, sites with an optimized agroforestry network were preferred to the same sites without. A strong explanatory relationship was found to exist between citizens’ scenic beauty estimation (SBE) and the landscape metrics. The representative empirical procedure gave sound qualitative results for this kind of landscape, but can be efficiently substituted by the regression model tested at the “local” scale. At the “landscape” scale it appears that (1) the explanatory power of the landscape pattern metrics selected for the GIS procedure is high, even for the mean “social” SBE, (2) the main explanatory power among network metrics is expressed by connectivity and circuitry, and (3) it is reasonable to expect that the impact of an agroforestry network on citizens’ SBE could be predicted with the empirical models that were tested.

Composition and diversity of bird communities in Swedish farmland–forest mosaic landscapes

CapsuleThe amount of forest (at local and landscape scales) and occurrence of residual habitats at the local scale are shown to be the major factors influencing bird community composition in farmland–forest landscapes in central Sweden. Aims To investigate the importance of local habitat and landscape structure for breeding birds in farmland–forest landscapes in central Sweden. Methods Breeding birds were censused at 292 points. A detailed habitat mapping was made within 300 m of the points. Within a 300–600 m radius only two major habitats (forests and arable fields) were identified. Results Cluster analyses of bird communities identified three site types that also differed in habitat composition: (i) partially forested sites in forested landscapes; (ii) heterogeneous sites with residual habitats in mosaic landscapes; and (iii) field-dominated farmland sites in open landscapes. A total of 19 of 25 farmland bird species (restricted to farmland or using both farmland and forest) had the highest abundance in farmland sites with mosaics of forest and farmland, while only six farmland species had the highest abundance in field-dominated sites. The bird community changed from being dominated by farmland species to being dominated by forest species (common in forest landscapes without farmland) at small proportions (10–20%) of forest at the local scale. A major difference in habitat composition between heterogeneous and field-dominated sites was the occurrence of different residual habitats (e.g. shrubby areas and seminatural grasslands). These habitats seemed to influence bird community composition more than land-use, despite covering <10% of the area. Seminatural grasslands were important for bird community composition and species-richness, but grazing seemed to be less important. Among different land-use types, cereal crops were the least preferred fields. Set-asides with tall vegetation and short rotation coppices were positively associated with species-richness of farmland birds. Conclusion In general, the composition of the landscape was important for bird community composition, although amount and distribution of forests, occurrence of residual habitats and land-use of fields at the local scale had the strongest influence on bird community composition. The possible implications of these patterns for managing farmland–forest landscapes are discussed.