Consequences of pastoral abandonment for the structure and diversity of the alpine avifauna

• Published in: Journal of Applied Ecology
• Main Authors: Laiolo, Paola, Dondero, Francesca, Ciliento, Enza, Rolando, Antonio
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2004
• Subjects: Finch; Alauda arvensis
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-8901.2004.00893.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.0021-8901.2004.00893.x; https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.0021-8901.2004.00893.x

Summary There is a long‐term trend of depopulation of rural areas and pasture abandonment throughout the Alps. This trend peaked after the Second World War and is now omnipresent. Its ecological consequences are evident mostly below the timberline, where grassland gradually turns into shrub and, ult...