Data from: The importance of size, location and vegetation composition of perennial fallows for farmland birds ...

• Main Authors: Meichtry-Stier, Kim S., Duplain, Jérôme, Lanz, Michael, Lugrin, Bernard, Birrer, Simon
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2018
• Subjects: wildflower area; Geneva; bird territories; Miliaria calandra; Saxicola torquata; bird densities; habitat association; field margin; Champagne genevoise; Lanius collurio; Emberiza hortulana; Vanellus vanellus; Sylvia communis; Saxicola rubetra; Switzerland; Emberiza citrinella; compositional anaysis; Coturnix coturnix; fallow; habitat characteristics; Alauda arvensis; Hippolais polyglotta; Emberiza cirlus; Motacilla flava; Champagne
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.66045pc; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.66045pc

Across Europe, patches of un-cropped land (field margins, fallows etc.) have been established and managed as part of agri-environment schemes (AES) to counteract the decrease of farmland biodiversity. Various studies demonstrate a positive impact of such un-cropped land on different taxa. However, there is potential to further improve the efficiency of fallow options for farmland birds. In a long-term monitoring, 12 breeding farmland bird species and sizes of perennial fallows were recorded from 1992 to 2015 in a 6.1 km2 area in Switzerland. Furthermore, habitat composition and fallow characteristics were mapped in 2012. We calculated population trends, analysed habitat associations and revealed the impact of fallow habitat characteristics on territory density. The proportion of fallows in the study site increased from 1.4 % (1992) to 8.5 % (2012). Population trends of six out of 12 censused species increased significantly over the same time, four species showed no trend and trends of two species decreased. ... : territory numbers of priority farmland birds in champagne genevoiseTerritory numbers of 12 farmland bird species of conservation concern in Switzerland, collected in the field in the study site in the champagne genevoise between 1992 and 2015.territory_numbers_priority_farmland_birds_genevoise.csvhabitat within pseudoterritories of priority farmland birds in 2012Amount (square meter) of each land-use type in the pseudoterritories of seven farmland bird species of conservation concern in the Study site in 2012. Pseudoterritories were established with ArcGIS, laying a buffer with radius 50m around each territory centre-point.habitat_pseudoterritories_genevoise2012.zipfallow characteristics and territory numbers in champagne genevoise 2012Characterisitcs (vegetation composition, size, age, distance to wood) of fallows in 2012 and territory numbers of six farmland bird species of conservation concern in each fallow. Vegetation data was mapped in the field, distances and areas were calculated in ...