The response of farmland bird communities to agricultural intensity as influenced by its spatial aggregation.

ABSTRACT: The shape of the relationship between biodiversity and agricultural intensity determines the range of intensities that should be targeted by conservation policies to obtain the greatest environmental benefits. Although preliminary evidence of this relationship exists, the influence of the spatial arrangement of intensity on biodiversity remains untested. We conducted a nationwide study linking agricultural intensity and its spatial arrangement to a farmland bird community of 22 species. Intensity was described with a continuous indicator based on Input Cost per hectare, which was relevant for both livestock and crop production. We used the French Breeding Bird Survey to compute several descriptors of the farmland bird community along the intensity gradient and tested for the significance o

SUBMITTER: Teillard F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4370717 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature