Low-intensity agriculture increases farmland bird abundances in France

Abstract

1. It is now widely accepted that agricultural intensification has highly contributed to the observed sharp decline of farmland biodiversity over the last decades. However, in some areas, farming practices continue to favor the existing biodiversity. These areas are referred to as High Nature Value farmlands. The identification of agricultural areas that still support a high level of biological diversity and the quantification of the impact that agricultural practices have on the existing biodiversity are major challenges for biological conservation and environmental politics. 2. Here we cross-validate results obtained from widely used indicators in Europe, that describe ecological changes linked to agricultural activities, namely the High Nature Value (HNV) farmland Indicator and the Common Bird Indicator. 3. Our results confirm our initial prediction that farmland areas estimated as having a high value for nature ¿ from agriculture statistics and landscape elements - effectively hold enhanced levels of biological diversity. 4. Comparing the temporal trend in the Farmland Bird Indicator (FBI) inside and outside HNV farmland, we observed higher trend in HNV than in non-HNV areas. 5. We found that HNV farmlands do not hold more bird species but more specialized bird communities than non-HNV farmlands. In addition, specialist bird species are significantly more abundant in HNV farmlands.