Farmland practices are driving bird population decline across Europe

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2216573120
• Publication Date: 2023-05-15T19:15:35Z
• Authors: Stanislas Rigal; Vasilis Dakos; Hany Alonso; Ainārs Auniņš; Zoltán Benkő; Lluís Brotons; Tomasz Chodkiewicz; Przemysław Chylar...; Elisabetta de Carli; Juan Carlos del M...; Cristian Domşa; Virginia Escandell; Benoît Fontaine; Ruud Foppen; Richard Gregory; Sarah Harris; Sergi Herrando; Magne Husby; Christina Ieronym...; Frédéric Jiguet; John Kennedy; Alena Klvaňová; Primož Kmecl; Lechosław Kuczyński; Petras Kurlavičius; John Atle Kålås; Aleksi Lehikoinen; Åke Lindström; Romain Lorrillière; Charlotte Moshøj; Renno Nellis; David Noble; Daniel Palm Eskil...; Jean-Yves Paquet; Mathieu Pélissié; Clara Pladevall; Danae Portolou; Jiří Reif; Hans Schmid; Benjamin Seaman; Zoltán D. Szabo; Tibor Szép; Guido Tellini Flo...; Norbert Teufelbauer; Sven Trautmann; Chris van Turnhout; Zdeněk Vermouzek; Thomas Vikstrøm; Petr Voříšek; Anne Weiserbs; Vincent Devictor
• Keywords: Population decline

Declines in European bird populations are reported for decades but the direct effect of major anthropogenic pressures on such declines remains unquantified. Causal relationships between and population responses difficult to identify as interact at different spatial scales vary among species. Here, we uncover time-series 170 common species, monitored more than 20,000 sites 28 countries, over 37 y, four widespread pressures: agricultural intensification, change forest cover, urbanisation temperature last decades. We quantify influence each pressure its importance relative other pressures, traits most affected find that particular pesticides fertiliser use, is main declines, especially invertebrate feeders. Responses changes species-specific. Specifically, cover associated with a positive growing negative dynamics, while has an dynamics large number populations, magnitude direction which depend species' thermal preferences. Our results not only confirm pervasive strong effects breeding birds, strength these stressing urgent need transformative way inhabiting world if shall have chance recovering.