Conservation Of Steppe Birdlife in Italy

Abstract

The paper deals with the status of bird species living in dry lowland grasslands in Italy, many of which are endangered or vulnerable due to land use changes. The main lowland dry grasslands are distributed in four Italian regions: Latium, Apulia, Sardinia and Sicily. Although true Mediterranean dry steppes have been drastically reduced due to agricultural changes and urban development, they still cover 200,000 ha, which are of outstanding importance for maintaining populations of Little Bustard - Tetrax tetrax (2,000?2,500 individuals), Stone Curlew - Burhinus oedicnemus, Bee-eater - Merops apiaster, Calandra Lark - Melanocorypha calandra, Black-eared Wheatear - Oenanthe hispanica, raptors and a significant number of plants and invertebrates.