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An Evaluation of Five Agricultural Habitat Types for Openland Birds: Abandoned Farmland Can Have Comparative Values to Undisturbed Wetland

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An Evaluation of Five Agricultural Habitat Types for Openland Birds: Abandoned Farmland Can Have Comparative Values to Undisturbed Wetland Ornithol Sci 18: 3 – 16 (2019) ORIGINAL ARTICLE An evaluation of ve agricultural habitat types for openland birds: abandoned farmland can have comparative values to undisturbed wetland Munehiro KITAZAWA1,#, Yuichi YAMAURA2,3, Masayuki SENZAKI1,4, Kazuhiro KAWAMURA1, Masashi HANIOKA1 and Futoshi NAKAMURA1 1 Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Nishi 9, Kita 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060–8589, Japan 2 Department of Forest Vegetation, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–8687, Japan 3 Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia 4 Center for Environmental Biology and Ecosystem Studies, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16–2, Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–8506, Japan ORNITHOLOGICAL Abstract Populations of birds inhabiting wetlands and grasslands are decreasing globally due to farmland expansion and subsequent agricultural intensification. In SCIENCE addition to conserving natural habitats, managing cultivated farmland and abandoned © The Ornithological Society farmland are likely to be important future conservation measures; however, their of Japan 2019 relative suitability as avian habitat remains understudied. In this study, we evaluated five habitat types (wetland, pasture, cropland, abandoned farmland, and solar power plant) for openland birds in an agricultural landscape in central Hokkaido, northern Japan. Abandoned farmlands had bird species richness and total bird abundance val- ues similar to those of wetlands. These values were generally higher in abandoned farmlands and wetlands than in croplands, pastures, and solar power plants. The per pair reproductive success of Stejneger’s Stonechat Saxicola stejnegeri and the amount of its prey (arthropods) did not differ among the five habitat types. Three species (Black-browed Reed Warbler Acrocephalus bistrigiceps, Common Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus, and Japanese Bush Warbler Cettia diphone) arrived earlier in wetlands than in other habitat types. These results suggest that, although protecting the remaining wetlands is of prime importance for the conservation of openland birds in agricultural landscapes, valuing and managing abandoned farmlands would be a promising alternative. Key words First arrival date, Food abundance, Hokkaido, Reproductive success, Stejneger’s Stonechat Conserving bird species that inhabit wetlands or investment (Main et al. 1999; Holzkämper & Seppelt grasslands (hereafter referred to as openland birds) is 2007). Previous studies have shown that many open- now widely regarded as an urgent issue, mainly due to land bird species use various habitat types including the drastic replacement of their original habitats with cultivated land. For example, pastures and croplands farmland and subsequent agricultural intensification in European agricultural landscapes harbor diverse (Finlayson & Spiers 1999; Millennium Ecosystem openland bird species (Robinson et al. 2001; Batáry Assessment 2003; Ceballos et al. 2010). Although et al. 2010). In Asia, rice paddies serve as important preserving and restoring original avian habitats is habitats for openland birds (Maeda 2001; Wood et al. clearly important for bird conservation, this approach 2010). Therefore, valuing and managing cultivated inevitably requires considerable social and financial habitats in agricultural landscapes may be an option alongside conservation of original habitats. (Received 11 November 2017; Accepted 18 May 2018) Globally, farmlands are being rapidly abandoned # Corresponding author, E-mail: [email protected] (Ramankutty & Foley 1999; Alcantara et al. 2013), 3 M. KITAZAWA et al. potentially reducing suitable habitat for many open- successful (Cooper et al. 2011) and mates were easily land birds (MacDonald et al. 2000; Sanderson et al. found (Lozano et al. 1996). Prey amount is another 2013). However, although many existing studies have important metric because it has substantial impacts emphasized the negative effects of farmland aban- on bird abundance and reproductive success (Newton donment (Queiroz et al. 2014), it is noted that some 1998). papers have reported the importance of abandoned farmlands as habitat for openland birds (Kamp et al. MATERIALS AND METHODS 2011; Katayama et al. 2015). For example, in east- ern Hokkaido, northern Japan, Hanioka et al. (2018) 1) Study area compared the habitat suitability of wetland and aban- We conducted the field survey on the Yufutsu Plain, doned farmland for birds. In abandoned farmland, located in central Hokkaido, northern Japan (42°38 ́N, many openland bird species had larger than 1/2 141°46 ́E). In the early 1900s, this region was cov- densities of wetlands. Globally, solar power plants ered with approximately 8,000 ha of wetlands (GSI are being increasingly constructed in agricultural 2000). From the 1950s to the 1970s, approximately landscapes. Little is known about the environmental 80% of these wetlands were converted into farmland, impacts of these developments (Turney & Fthenakis urban, and industrial areas (GSI 2000). Only a few 2011; Gibson et al. 2017). Habitat suitability for fragmented and isolated wetland patches remain (Fig. openland birds thus varies for each habitat type, and 1). Some croplands have been abandoned since 1969 recent land use changes in agricultural landscapes (Wild Bird Society of Japan 2006), and abandoned may also affect the diversity of openland birds; nev- farmlands now occupy approximately 700 ha of the ertheless, the relative suitability of various habitat Yufutsu Plain (Kitazawa Munehiro personal observa- types in agricultural landscapes remains unclear. tion). The area occupied by solar power plants in this Avian habitats in agricultural landscapes have been region has been increasing since the 2010s and is cur- evaluated according to bird species richness and bird rently estimated at approximately 390 ha (Kitazawa abundance (e.g., Bengtsson et al. 2005; Flohre et al. Munehiro personal observation). 2011). However, bird abundance does not always indicate reproductive success (van Horne 1983; 2) Habitats in the agricultural landscape Vickery et al. 1992), suggesting that habitat evalu- We surveyed openland birds in wetlands, aban- ation based solely on bird species richness or bird doned farmlands, pastures, croplands, and solar abundance may fail to identify habitats with high power plants within the study area. We defined a reproductive success (Purvis et al. 2000; Kristan wetland as an area characterized by the Common 2003). This is particularly important in agricultural Reed Phragmites australis and Bluejoint Reedgrass landscapes because human intervention can disrupt Calamagrostis langsdorffii, both of which are domi- the links between traditional habitat selection cues nant wet grass species in this area. Abandoned farm- and habitat quality (Schlaepfer et al. 2002; Bock & land was defined as land that had once been cropped Jones 2004). Thus it is desirable to examine habitat and was abandoned more than 10 years ago. Japanese suitability in agricultural landscapes not only based Silver Grass Miscanthus sinensis was the dominant on bird species richness and bird abundance, but also species in abandoned farmland. In some plots, Com- using other metrics such as reproductive success. mon Reed and Japanese Alder Alnus japonica growth The objective of this study was to evaluate five was patchy. In pastures, grass was mown from late habitat types (wetland, abandoned farmland, pasture, June to mid July. The main crops in the croplands cropland, and solar power plant) for openland birds in were leaf vegetables, corn, and soybeans. Common an agricultural landscape, in central Hokkaido, based Reed, Japanese Silver Grass, and Japanese Butterbur on bird species richness, bird abundance, reproduc- Petasites japonicus were the dominant species in the tive success, first arrival date, and prey amount. First field margins of pastures and croplands. The width arrival date, which is the date when the first indi- of the margins was 15.2±8.6 m (mean±SD). We vidual of a species is observed (Goodenough et al. defined solar power plants as land where solar panels 2014), is a reasonable metric of habitat suitability for were arranged in parallel rows at equal intervals. In migratory birds (Sergio & Newton 2003; Robertson the solar power plants that we surveyed, solar panels & Hutto 2006) because individuals arriving early can (1.6 m2 per panel) occupied 50–60% of the area, occupy territories where reproduction was previously and the remainder was covered by grass vegetation 4 Agricultural habitats for openland birds Fig. 1. Spatial distribution of four habitat types (wetland, natural grassland, farmland, and forest) of part of the Yufutsu Plain in 1919 (a), 1953 (b), and 2006 (c). Classification and distribution of habitat types are based on 1:50,000–scale topographical maps provided by the Geographical Survey Institute of Japan (http://mapps.gsi.go.jp/maplibSearch.do#1). Farmland includes pasture, cropland, and rice paddy. Although abandoned farmland is not identified, but included in wetland or grassland, dynamics of habitat types and the appearance of abandoned farmland are shown. For example, in the enlarged map shown in black squares, wetlands were converted into farmland from 1919 to 1953, and then partly changed into natural grassland from 1953 to 2006, meaning that these farms were abandoned. Fig. 2. Study area and distribution of the census plots. We established
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