La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Titre :	[Risk of nest losses due to cattle trampling in extensively grazed pastures in a riverine fen mire.]
Auteurs :	Bettina Holsten, Auteur ; Birger Benn, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	Vogelwelt (Die) (123(2) 2002)
Article en page(s) :	89-98
Résumé :	This study investigated nest losses of ground breeding birds due to cattle trampling on a 36 ha pasture in the river valley of the upper Eider. The pastures were seasonally extensively grazed and were dominated by a mosaic of mineral and peat soils. Between 1st and 21st of May and 16th of June and 7th of July 1999, respectively, 253 artificial nests were placed on both soil types. All breeding bird territories located on pasture and prone to cattle trampling were mapped. The aim of the study was to develop a model for determining species-specific trampling risks depending on soil types, cattle density and the onset of the grazing season. A density of 0.9 cattle/ha in May caused nest losses of 39% on the entire pasture area, with a 2.6 times higher trampling rate on mineral soil compared to peat soil. In June/July 1.5 cattle/ha destroyed 65% of all nests with a smaller difference between the soil types. A mosaic of different soil types on one pasture reduced the trampling risk for all breeding species compared to pastures with homogeneous soil type. If the onset of the grazing season was delayed by

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