| Abstract [eng] |
Farmland birds represent one of the most endangered bird populations in Europe and North America. Some of the bird species that inhabit agricultural landscapes serve as bioindicators of the health of their ecosystems. Although considerable research has been carried out in western Europe, there is as yet a lack of such studies in eastern Europe. The aim of the study was to identify and compare the species composition, abundance and distribution of birds in the agricultural landscape of Kalvarija municipality. The objectives of the study were to determine the bird species composition and structure in the selected areas, to compare the values of biodiversity indices in two selected territories in 2021-2022 seasons, to determine the abundance and distribution characteristics of birds in study areas with different uses of agricultural land and to assess the influence of the landscape elements on the distribution of birds. The analysis of the literature review discusses the concept of agrarian landscapes, the main features of the indicator species of the Farmland Birds Index, and the studies conducted in other countries. Farmland birds were monitored using the guidelines of the adjusted bird point-count protocol according to Südbeck et al. (2005), and the bird point-count methodology. The surveys were carried out in areas (I and II) located in the municipality of Kalvarija, which differ in terms of their land use and the mosaic habitat nature of the area. The survey was carried out during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. The study suggested that the mosaic habitat nature of the agrarian landscape and the extensive use of the area contribute to a higher diversity and abundance of bird species, especially of breeding species. The resulting biodiversity indices indicated a more even distribution of birds and higher species diversity in the mosaic habitat landscape (SMarg = 7,59, E = 0,85). The study identified a decline in the abundance of birds, especially the breeding species, in 2022 (6,8 %), which may have been influenced by both population decline and poorer meteorological conditions in the spring of 2022. The small size of the study should also be considered as having influenced the results. The study found a statistically significant direct correlation between the abundance of individual birds and the distance to scrubland. |
