Atlas of Breeding Birds in Spain III highlights the general decline in most species associated with agricultural environments in Spain. In thirty years, 27% of existing specimens have been lost.
This was reported to Efe by sources from the Spanish Ornithological Society (SEO/BirdLife), noting that the overall decline of birds due to agricultural environments highlights the environmental degradation of these systems, according to the results of Sacred Bird. monitoring program
For example, some of the species most affected by this decline in Castilla-La Mancha include: blueberry, lark, common quail, yellow ear, red partridge, and bustardthey are all «moderate decline», but some percentages of decline in 2021 compared to 1998 are above 44%.
Atlas of Breeding Birds in Spain III also reflects the decline of other species. calandria, ricoti skylark, ortega and iberian sand grouse, bustard bustard, Eurasian bustard and red-tailed grebe.
Conservation of agricultural birds is linked to specific agricultural practices as well as intensification and abandonment dynamics.
SEO/BirdLife aims that the Common Agricultural Policy encourages and rewards systems and practices that benefit biodiversity. without undermining farmer profitability, such as reducing biocides, maintaining fallow lands, and promoting wilderness areas such as banks, borders and other barren areas.
reasons for the decline
The transformation and intensification of agriculture focused above all on productivity and extensive use of pesticides and herbicides; the spread of monocultures; reduction of wilderness areas and fallow; conversion of large rainy areas into irrigated land and the use of toxic crops and seeds.
These reasons are a degradation and reduction of their habitats, reduction of insects (76% less in Europe since 1990) and seed plants as a food source, less space to reproduce, and in short, less usable territory and lower quality.
In addition to this evolution of agricultural systems, the construction of industrial and transport infrastructures, and recently renewable energy projects (particularly photovoltaic), which have largely occupied the favored habitat of these species, have been unfairly considered areas of little value.
Among birds associated with agricultural environments, the more vulnerable are those associated with agro-steppe environments.
There are no natural steppes in Spain, but there are semi-arid areas with different types of grassland that have been subject to human intervention at some point in history and, above all, wide open areas of cereal crops such as alfalfa and legumes. most of the bird species typical of steppe regions.
Little bull has dropped 68.5% since 1998
For example, II. Compared to the Breeding Bird Atlas, while the fledgling reduces its occupation in the area, the results are not positive for the small bustard as it shows a 68.5% decrease for the 1998-2018 period. (-5.5% per year).
In addition, sand grouse and Iberian sand grouse, which share their habitats with the bustard, are also experiencing significant population declines.
Ortega decreased by 34% between 2005 and 2019 for the entire Spanish population; The Iberian population decreased by 19% in the same period, from 9,477 to 7,656 people.
The estimated population of the Eurasian toy is 22,000-24,000 individuals, which is about 15% lower than the estimates of the last two decades.
population trend blond wheatear is clearly negative on set, with an overall decline of 27% since 1998.
Skylark isn’t doing much better with a statewide drop of 35%, and its relative Skylark is trending very negatively with an overall drop rate of 41.4% over the 2004-2015 period.
For Data collected for red partridge, for almost all types of agro-environment, indicate a significant reduction of 40%. since 1998.
Source: Informacion
