Evaluating the benefits of agri-environment schemes on farmland bird communities through a common species monitoring programme. A case study in northern Italy

Biodiversity in agricultural environments is considered to be undergoing steep declines in most European countries. Among taxa which experienced consistent decreases, birds are of central importance, both for their value as ecological indicators and for the high number of species of conservation concern associated with agricultural ecosystems. In this paper, using data from the Italian Common Breeding Bird monitoring programme collected in the period 2009-2014, we analysed the effect on breeding birds of four Agri-Environment Schemes (AES) in Emilia-Romagna region, one of the most important agricultural areas of Italy. Specifically we compared the values of three community parameters (total, farmland and generalist species richness) and the abundance of seven species (Alandn arvensis, Hirundo rustica, Motacilla fiava, Serinus serinus, Chloris chloris, Carduelis carduelis and Passer montanus) in areas covered by AES and not. The results of the analyses show that, at the scale we investigated, the positive effects of these measures are very limited and often not positive, particularly for farmland specialist species. These findings seem to suggest that the application of these measures, albeit widespread over the Region, is not able to counteract the negative effects of the simplification and impoverishment of the agricultural landscape. Our results show the AES management related more with single species metrics than community measures. Therefore to improve the effectiveness of AES, and to try to contrasts the dramatic decline of farmland bird species, we think these schemes should be designed on the specific needs of species and habitats of high conservation priority.