Livestock production land and conservation areas play a complementary role in the conservation of a critically endangered grassland bird
Abstract In many parts of the world, livestock production and biodiversity conservation are important land uses of native grasslands in agricultural landscapes. Approaches to managing grasslands typically differ between production farms and conservation areas as they have different goals. Such diffe...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Ecological Solutions and Evidence |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12182 |
| _version_ | 1797976270560034816 |
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| author | Daniel T. Nugent David J. Baker‐Gabb Mark Antos Luke Collins Peter Green John W. Morgan |
| author_facet | Daniel T. Nugent David J. Baker‐Gabb Mark Antos Luke Collins Peter Green John W. Morgan |
| author_sort | Daniel T. Nugent |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract In many parts of the world, livestock production and biodiversity conservation are important land uses of native grasslands in agricultural landscapes. Approaches to managing grasslands typically differ between production farms and conservation areas as they have different goals. Such differences may have consequent effects on the spatial and temporal habitat suitability for grassland fauna. In semi‐arid grasslands of south‐eastern Australia, the critically endangered Plains‐wanderer (Pedionomus torquatus) is a grassland habitat‐specialist bird that can occur on land managed for livestock production and conservation, but it is unclear if, and when, habitat suitability is affected in each land‐use type. Here, we investigate how land‐use type (livestock production, conservation) and rainfall (preceding accumulated rainfall) affect habitat suitability for the Plains‐wanderer using 11 years of bird occurrence and remotely sensed habitat structure data. We found habitat suitability for the Plains‐wanderer was driven by an interaction between land use and rainfall, with conservation areas supporting larger areas of preferred habitat structure during dry periods but less during wet periods. By contrast, Plains‐wanderers were more likely to occur on livestock production farms during wet periods. We speculate this is because higher grazing pressure on livestock production farms was able to limit biomass accumulation and, hence, maintain more areas of preferred habitat structure. Our findings show that land used for livestock production can complement conservation areas by providing preferred habitat for the Plains‐wanderer during climatic periods that promote grass growth. Furthermore, we highlight that land use and climate are important temporal drivers of grassland dynamics, and approaches to biodiversity conservation should consider how patterns of habitat suitability may shift across landscapes over time. Strategic, landscape‐scale planning and effective agri‐environmental initiatives will be critical to the future of grassland birds such as the Plains‐wanderer. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:49:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eff9f8b31f2b4e5e88da7ec37722d5fc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2688-8319 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:49:24Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Solutions and Evidence |
| spelling | doaj.art-eff9f8b31f2b4e5e88da7ec37722d5fc2022-12-27T06:06:38ZengWileyEcological Solutions and Evidence2688-83192022-10-0134n/an/a10.1002/2688-8319.12182Livestock production land and conservation areas play a complementary role in the conservation of a critically endangered grassland birdDaniel T. Nugent0David J. Baker‐Gabb1Mark Antos2Luke Collins3Peter Green4John W. Morgan5Department of Environment and Genetics La Trobe University Melbourne Victoria AustraliaDepartment of Environment and Genetics La Trobe University Melbourne Victoria AustraliaEnvironment and Science Division Parks Victoria Melbourne Victoria AustraliaDepartment of Environment and Genetics La Trobe University Melbourne Victoria AustraliaDepartment of Environment and Genetics La Trobe University Melbourne Victoria AustraliaDepartment of Environment and Genetics La Trobe University Melbourne Victoria AustraliaAbstract In many parts of the world, livestock production and biodiversity conservation are important land uses of native grasslands in agricultural landscapes. Approaches to managing grasslands typically differ between production farms and conservation areas as they have different goals. Such differences may have consequent effects on the spatial and temporal habitat suitability for grassland fauna. In semi‐arid grasslands of south‐eastern Australia, the critically endangered Plains‐wanderer (Pedionomus torquatus) is a grassland habitat‐specialist bird that can occur on land managed for livestock production and conservation, but it is unclear if, and when, habitat suitability is affected in each land‐use type. Here, we investigate how land‐use type (livestock production, conservation) and rainfall (preceding accumulated rainfall) affect habitat suitability for the Plains‐wanderer using 11 years of bird occurrence and remotely sensed habitat structure data. We found habitat suitability for the Plains‐wanderer was driven by an interaction between land use and rainfall, with conservation areas supporting larger areas of preferred habitat structure during dry periods but less during wet periods. By contrast, Plains‐wanderers were more likely to occur on livestock production farms during wet periods. We speculate this is because higher grazing pressure on livestock production farms was able to limit biomass accumulation and, hence, maintain more areas of preferred habitat structure. Our findings show that land used for livestock production can complement conservation areas by providing preferred habitat for the Plains‐wanderer during climatic periods that promote grass growth. Furthermore, we highlight that land use and climate are important temporal drivers of grassland dynamics, and approaches to biodiversity conservation should consider how patterns of habitat suitability may shift across landscapes over time. Strategic, landscape‐scale planning and effective agri‐environmental initiatives will be critical to the future of grassland birds such as the Plains‐wanderer.https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12182agricultural landscapesgrassland dynamicsgrassland faunahabitat suitabilityPlains‐wanderervegetation structure |
| spellingShingle | Daniel T. Nugent David J. Baker‐Gabb Mark Antos Luke Collins Peter Green John W. Morgan Livestock production land and conservation areas play a complementary role in the conservation of a critically endangered grassland bird Ecological Solutions and Evidence agricultural landscapes grassland dynamics grassland fauna habitat suitability Plains‐wanderer vegetation structure |
| title | Livestock production land and conservation areas play a complementary role in the conservation of a critically endangered grassland bird |
| title_full | Livestock production land and conservation areas play a complementary role in the conservation of a critically endangered grassland bird |
| title_fullStr | Livestock production land and conservation areas play a complementary role in the conservation of a critically endangered grassland bird |
| title_full_unstemmed | Livestock production land and conservation areas play a complementary role in the conservation of a critically endangered grassland bird |
| title_short | Livestock production land and conservation areas play a complementary role in the conservation of a critically endangered grassland bird |
| title_sort | livestock production land and conservation areas play a complementary role in the conservation of a critically endangered grassland bird |
| topic | agricultural landscapes grassland dynamics grassland fauna habitat suitability Plains‐wanderer vegetation structure |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12182 |
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