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- Title
THE INFLUENCE OF DITCH AND HEDGEROW STRUCTURE, LENGTH OF HEDGEROWS, AND AREA OF WOODLAND AND GARDEN ON BIRD NUMBERS ON FARMLAND.
- Authors
Arnold, G. W.
- Abstract
(l) The number of birds found in thirty-seven (5 ha) sites on farmland in Cambridgeshire were counted twelve tunes in the winter of 1980-81% and again in the summer of 1981. The sites represented ten types of habitat and were chosen to give a range from arable land without ditches, hedges and trees, to arable and grassland with up to 200 m ditch and/or hedge of various sizes; and at the extreme, linear strips of woodland. (2) Etch of the structural components influenced the number of species utilizing a site. In Winter, the average number of species per site increased from 5 on arable land to 7.5 when a ditch was present; numbers increased with the additional presence of short hedges or tree to 12 species. With tall hedges the number was 17 and with a narrow strip of woodland 19. The number of resident thrushes, buntings, and robin + wren, and dunnock were all significantly different in different types of habitat. The basic pattern was the same in summer, with high correlations between species number in winter and summer. (3) Regression analysis was used to relate numbers of species, number of contacts with birds of a species and number of territories to measured characteristics of the sites. i.e. length, depth, volume and cover in ditches: length, height. width and cover in hedges: number of shrub and herb species in hedges and ditches, Additional variables used were the length of hedgerow, and areas of woodland and garden both in the 1 km&sup-2; and in the 2-5 km&sup-2; of countryside surrounding the quadrat. (4) In winter the nature of the surrounding 25 km&sup-2; significantly influenced numbers of most groups of species. but accounted for little (≶ 30%) of the variation in numbers. In the sites with hedges different characteristics were important for different species. Thus numbers of resident thrushes. wrens and robins increased with increased ditch volume. Hedge height was not important for these species but was important for tits.
- Subjects
HEDGEROW ecology; WINDBREAKS, shelterbelts, etc.; DITCHES; LANDSCAPE architecture; BIRD populations; FARMS
- Publication
Journal of Applied Ecology, 1983, Vol 20, Issue 3, p731
- ISSN
0021-8901
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2307/2403123