The impact of growing miscanthus for biomass on farmland bird populations
The impact of growing miscanthus for biomass on farmland bird populations
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DOI：
10.1016/j.biombioe.2008.07.001
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发表时间：
2009-02-01
影响因子：
6
通讯作者：
Rothery, P.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Bellamy, P. E.;Croxton, P. J.;Rothery, P.
芒草是一种新引进的作物，主要用于生产能源生产的生物质，预计在英国的种植面积将增加。作物管理与传统可耕地作物的主要差异导致了芒草可能对农田生物多样性也有影响的猜测。六个芒草领域与六个常规作物，冬小麦，鸟类多样性和丰富度进行了比较，在冬季和繁殖季节沿着与潜在的食物来源。在冬季和夏季，芒草田的鸟类数量和多样性都比小麦田大。在冬季，芒草田中的大量鸟类可能是被作物提供的庇护所和丰富的非作物植物所吸引。在繁殖季节，芒草地里大量的非作物植物和与这些植物有关的大量昆虫提供了食物资源。然而，芒草作物植物比小麦作物植物提供更少的昆虫食物。繁殖季节作物结构的变化影响了繁殖鸟类。这项研究的结果表明，在英国种植芒草面积的增加可能会对建立期间的农田鸟类种群产生暂时的好处。这些好处可能会随着作物的年龄和作物管理经验的改进而减少。野生动物的管理将需要保持吸引鸟类的特征的多样性，因为如果仅仅为了最大限度地提高作物产量而管理芒草，许多这些特征将消失。(C)2008爱思唯尔有限公司保留所有权利。
Miscanthus is a newly introduced crop grown primarily to produce biomass for energy production and the area grown in the UK is anticipated to increase. Major differences in crop management from conventional arable crops have led to speculation that miscanthus may also have effects on farmland biodiversity. Six miscanthus fields were paired with six of a conventional crop, winter wheat, and bird diversity and abundance were compared in winter and during the breeding season along with potential food sources. Miscanthus fields had a greater abundance and diversity of birds than did wheat in winter and summer. In winter, the greater numbers of birds in miscanthus fields were probably attracted by the shelter provided by the crop and by the abundance of non-crop plants. During the breeding season, the abundance of non-crop plants in miscanthus fields, and greater numbers of insects associated with these plants, provided food resources. However, the miscanthus crop plants provided less insect food than wheat crop plants. Changes in crop structure during the breeding season influenced the breeding birds. The results from this study suggested that an increase in the area of miscanthus grown in the UK may have temporary benefits for farmland bird populations during establishment. These benefits are likely to diminish with age of crop and as crop management improves with experience. Management for wildlife will be required to maintain the diversity of features attractive to birds because many of these will be lost if miscanthus is managed solely to maximise crop yields. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.