In a 2021 paper in Basic and Applied Ecology, Triin Kaasiku and colleagues use radar remote sensing to assess the continued suitability of large areas of Estonia for breeding waders. Although the focus of the paper is upon the performance of an agri-environment scheme, the results are of broader relevance, as conservation biologists seek to monitor vegetation growth and the encroachment of shrubs and trees, especially associated with a warming climate, afforestation and farmland abandonment.
Ground-nesting waders
Many species of waders breed in open habitats. Dense vegetation can remove feeding and nesting areas, and shrub and tree encroachment provides shelter for predators. Previous WaderTales blogs have discussed the perceived and actual predator effects of patches of woodland on breeding Lapwing populationsand the difficulty of removing trees and predators that have been planted in peatland (Trees, predators & breeding waders). At a larger scale, vegetation growth, trees…
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