Impact of management on avian communities in the scottish highlands

Abstract

The protection of biodiversity is a key national and international policy objective. While protectedareas provide one approach, a major challenge lies in understanding how the conservationof biodiversity can be achieved in the context of multiple land managementobjectives in the wider countryside. Here we analyse metrics of bird diversity in the Scottishuplands in relation to land management types and explore how bird species compositionvaries in relation to land managed for grazing, hunting and conservation. Birds were surveyedon the heather moorland areas of 26 different landholdings in Scotland. The resultsindicate that, in relation to dominant management type, the composition of bird species variesbut measures of diversity and species richness do not. Intensive management forgrouse shooting affects the occurrence, absolute and relative abundance of bird species.While less intensive forms of land management appear to only affect the relative abundanceof species, though extensive sheep grazing appears to have little effect on avian communitycomposition. Therefore enhanced biodiversity at the landscape level is likely to be achievedby maintaining heterogeneity in land management among land management units. Thisresult should be taken into account when developing policies that consider how to achieveenhanced biodiversity outside protected areas, in the context of other legitimate land-uses.