Scientific Journal of the BirdLife Hungary

A Magyar Madártani és Természetvédelmi Egyesület tudományos folyóirata

Ornis Hungarica. vol.19. (2011) p.125-132.

Monitoring of breeding bird communities of windbreaks
Jánoska Ferenc

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Abstract:

My investigations were performed in a windbreak system of Western Hungary since 1989, in the Kisalföld region. The territory covered by the LAJTA-Project research area served as basic area for my investigations. The area extends over 3000 ha including 118 ha taken by the 50 windbreaks examined in course of my work. Here I have been carrying on examinations since 1989, so I have breeding data of the latest 22 years. For common species, yearly dynamics of density were also examined. In our research area Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio) was the most common species: it proved to be dominant in each year. In some windbreaks, stock numbers of the Tree pipit (Anthus trivialis) show an increasing trend. Lesser-Grey Shrike (Lanius minor) is extremely rare in the western regions of Hungary, but in this region we observed a little breeding population of this species. Lesser-grey Shrike density showed in the late 10 years severe decrements, in same years we have no observations breeding pairs of this species.
My investigations have led the conclusions that the habitat structure of shelterbelts correlates with the species composition, density and diversity conditions of the avifauna living in them. In agrarian areas under intensive cultivation, windbreaks provide advantageous nesting possibilities for several bird species and contribute to in creasing the biodiversity of agrarian landscapes.