Abstract
The dramatic declines of Swedish farmland birds, reflecting European trends, have been attributed to agricultural intensification resulting in loss of ecological heterogeneity at multiple scales. Agri-environment schemes are used to reduce agricultural intensity and/or restore ecological heterogeneity to benefit farmland biodiversity. However, there is a lack of rigorous scientific evaluation of their effectiveness in preserving biodiversity. In particular, there is little understanding on how to optimize the effect of agri-environment schemes on the preservation of biodiversity in different types of agricultural landscapes, e.g. intensively farmed plains and landscapes with mixed agriculture. The aim of this project is to: (a) Use meta-analysis to compile studies evaluating the effect of agri-environment schemes on the diversity and abundance of farmland birds, in particular if measures vary in their effectiveness across landscapes of different heterogeneity, (b) Propose and experimentally evaluate agri-environment schemes that are acceptable within modern agronomic practices on the abundance and diversity of farmland birds in agricultural landscapes of different heterogeneity, (c) In a focal study of the house sparrow, experimentally investigate mechanisms by which the effectiveness of agri-environment measures may vary across landscapes, (d) Propose cost-efficient ways to use agri-environment schemes to restore biodiversity of farmland birds in Sweden
Sweden