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Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Cropland can support high bird diversity in heterogeneous rural tropical landscapes
Bird Conservation International, Vol.34, pp.1-10
2024
Abstract
Land-use change for crop production is one of the key drivers of habitat loss and fragmentation and consequently biodiversity loss and change in tropical regions. This may impact biodiversity-regulated ecosystem services; birds are important to crop health regulating services (e.g. seed dispersal, pest control) and disservices (e.g. seed predation, grain herbivory). However, knowledge is limited on how birds use heterogeneous agricultural landscapes and the consequences for spatial distribution and flow of services and disservices. We studied crop and non-crop–habitat associations of birds in forest–agricultural landscapes of the Kilombero Valley, Tanzania. We focused on dietary preference as a key trait impacting bird responses to land-use change, services, and disservices to crops. We surveyed birds across four main habitat types using repeated point counts, recording a total of 148 species. We found that crop habitats supported higher species richness and larger communities of potentially beneficial species to crop health, whereby 34.5% of invertebrate-feeding species were recorded in cropland. We found that habitat heterogeneity within the landscape supports bird functional diversity and that each habitat type supported unique communities of species. Furthermore, the number of species unique to forest habitats increased with increasing forest canopy closure. Our findings suggest that management strategies for maintaining trees and shrubs, and enhancing tree cover within the crop production landscape, can be effective approaches for maintaining bird diversity and services. However, in-depth studies on trade-offs with disservices need further exploration to mitigate negative impacts of birds on crop yields.
Details
- Title
- Cropland can support high bird diversity in heterogeneous rural tropical landscapes
- Authors
- Sheena Davis (Corresponding Author) - Newcastle UniversitySergio Guerreiro Milheiras - Newcastle UniversityPieter L. Olivier - University of PretoriaLauren Barnes - Newcastle UniversityDeo Shirima - Sokoine University of AgricultureEsther Kioko - National Museums of KenyaSusannah M. Sallu - University of LeedsEvodius Ishengoma - Sokoine University of AgricultureAndrew R. Marshall - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Forest Research InstituteMarion Pfeifer - Newcastle University
- Publication details
- Bird Conservation International, Vol.34, pp.1-10
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Date published
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1017/S0959270924000030
- ISSN
- 1474-0001; 0959-2709
- Copyright note
- © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of BirdLife International. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
- Organisation Unit
- Tropical Forests and People Research Centre; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Forest Research Institute
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991020798402621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Biodiversity Conservation
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