Links between agricultural management and wader populations in sub-arctic landscapes

• Main Author: Johannesdottir, Lilja
• Other Authors: Tómas Grétar Gunnarsson, Líf- og umhverfisvísindadeild (HÍ), Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences (UI), Verkfræði- og náttúruvísindasvið (HÍ), School of Engineering and Natural Sciences (UI), Háskóli Íslands, University of Iceland
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Iceland, School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences 2017
• Subjects: Iceland; Sub-arctic; Waders; Shorebirds; Conservation; Agriculture; Agricultural expansion; Farmers; Ground-nesting birds; Lowland ecosystems; Land-use changes; Volcanic activity; Aeolian deposition; Stakeholders perceptions; Habitat heterogeneity; Vaðfuglar; Umhverfisvernd; Landbúnaður; Bændur; Landnýting; Doktorsritgerðir; Arctic
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/329

The development and expansion of agriculture throughout the world has been a major driver of biodiversity loss in recent decades. Icelandic agriculture is currently not as intense and widespread as in many other western countries, and the effects of agriculture on biodiversity in Iceland and similar farming systems are largely unknown. Iceland supports big populations of several wader species of international importance and the aim of this thesis is to explore the links between agriculture and breeding wader populations. This was done by surveying waders in agricultural landscapes across Iceland and by carrying out a questionnaire survey among farmers. Surveys of wader density in areas of varying agricultural management intensity throughout lowland Iceland revealed high densities of breeding waders in all three management categories. However densities are generally lower on more intensely managed land, suggesting possible negative effects of future expansion of agriculture, given that the majority of farmers questioned for the study reported they were likely to expand cultivated land in the coming years. The volcanic nature of Iceland and varying temperatures have a strong influence on bird distribution and abundance, and interact with the effects of cultivated land on birds. In areas further from volcanic activity, wader density increases when there is more cultivated land around but the reverse occurs in areas with high levels of historic volcanic ash fall. This suggests that the location of cultivated land expansion can partly determine future effects on birdlife. Currently there are few efforts towards protecting these species in Iceland and, when questioned about their views towards birdlife, farmers reported that they do not currently take bird conservation into consideration in their land use management, although they do consider it important to have rich birdlife on their land and were positive towards participating in proposed conservation management. Cooperation with farmers, who own most of the ...