Selection of a diversionary field and other habitats by large grazing birds in a landscape managed for agriculture and wetland biodiversity

Several populations of cranes, geese, and swans are thriving and increasing in modern agricultural landscapes. Abundant populations are causing conservation conflicts, as they may affect agricultural production and biodiversity negatively. 
Management strategies involving provisioning of attractive diversionary fields where birds are tolerated can be used to reduce negative impact to growing crops. To improve such strategies, knowledge of how the birds interact with the landscape and respond to current management interventions is key.
We used GPS locations from tagged common cranes (Grus grus) and greylag geese (Anser anser) to assess how they use and select differentially managed habitats, such as diversionary fields to decrease impact on agriculture and wetlands protected for biodiversity conservation.
Our findings show a high probability of presence of common cranes and greylag geese in the protected area and in the diversionary field, but also on arable fields, potentially causing n..., Study area
The study was conducted in the vicinity of lake Kvismaren (59°10′N,15°23′E), southeast of Örebro in south-central Sweden (Fig.1) from 2017 to 2022. The landscape is flat and dominated by highly productive arable land. The central parts of the study area consist of a mosaic of shallow, eutrophic lakes, reed beds and grazed wet meadows, designated as both a Natura 2000 (i.e., SPA and SAC) and a Ramsar site (Wetlands: a global disappearing act 1970; EC 2016). Kvismaren is a national key area for protection of multi-functional wetland habitats and aimed for staging, breeding, and threatened bird species, e.g., waders, waterfowl, gulls. It is also intended to serve as a refuge area for large grazing birds (common cranes and several goose species; EC 2009). The shallow lakes and wetlands provide good roost sites and the surrounding agricultural landscape favourable foraging opportunities. A diversionary field and various scaring practices are employed in the study area to reduce t..., , # This README\_Nilsson\_et\_al.txt file was generated on 2024-01-04 by Lovisa Nilsson

GENERAL INFORMATION

1\. Title of Dataset: Data from: Selection of a diversionary field and other habitats by large grazing birds in a landscape managed for agriculture and wetland biodiversity

2\. Author Information

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Corresponding author
Name: Dr. Lovisa Nilsson
Institution: Grimsö Research Station, Dept. of Ecology, Swedish University of Agriultural Sciences (SLU), SWE
Email: [e-mail]

Co-authors
Name: Ass. Prof. Johan MÃ¥nsson
Institution: Grimsö Research Station, Dept. of Ecology, Swedish University of Agriultural Sciences (SLU), SWE

Name: Prof. Johan Elmberg
Institution: Department of Environmental Science and Bioscience, Kristianstad University, SWE

Name: Dr. Niklas Liljebäck
Institution: Grimsö Research Station, Dept. of Ecology, Swedish University of Agriultural Sciences (SLU), SWE

Name: Dr. Ingunn Tombre
Institution: Department of Arctic Ecology, Norwegian In...