Reed cutting affects arthropod communities, potentially reducing food for passerine birds

By Martin Schmidt, G. Lefebvre, B. Poulin, T. Tscharntke. 2004

106 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Winter cutting of Common Reed Phragmites australis (Poaceae) is increasing in Camargue, southern France, potentially affecting wetlands of high conservation value. We studied its impact on arthropods by comparing four cut and uncut sites with special respect to avian prey availability in the breeding season. The two most important prey groups for breeding passerines, spiders (Araneida) and beetles (Coleoptera), were identified to species in trap catches and diet samples. The arthropod assemblages differed significantly between cut and uncut sites. Phytophagous and saprophagous species showed contrasting responses. Numbers of homopterans increased in cut reed beds, where green Phragmites stem density was higher. Saprophagous woodlice decreased, presumably due to the reduced amount of litter. Densities of some vegetation-dwelling spider and beetle species were lower at cut sites, including two of the most preferred prey species for passerine birds. Consequently, large-scale mechanically harvested reed beds host altered arthropod communities, missing major food components used by vulnerable passerines. However, reed cutting on a small scale may increase habitat heterogeneity and species richness on a landscape level. To contribute to reed bed conservation, EU schemes should reward management that leaves uncut reed patches in the proximity of cut areas to permit their recolonization by arthropods.

Subfields: Ecology, Nature and Landscape Conservation

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/89588dae03e18c89c3bb9e37b9f94bb15539fc37

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In Nature and Landscape Conservation

Citations in the corpus

The impact of reed management on wildlife: A meta-analytical review of European studies (2008, background): “arthropod community are expected to occur after several years of cutting (Schmidt et al., 2005).”
Distribution patterns of boreal marshland birds: modelling the relationships to land cover and climate (2005, background): “Marshlands host a particular biota including a significant proportion of habitat specialists amongst, for example, plants, insects, spiders and birds (Bibby & Lunn, 1982; Baldi & Kisbenedek, 1999; Graveland, 1999; Tscharntke, 1999; Poulin et al., 2002; Schmidt et al., 2005).”
Impact of grassland farming intensification on the breeding ecology of an indicator insectivorous passerine, the Whinchat Saxicola rubetra: Lessons for overall Alpine meadowland management (2006, background): “Indeed, besides altering the habitat structure and the overall arthropod community ( Schmidt et al., 2005 ), mowing is particularly detrimental to larger insects (Beintema et al., 1991).”
The role of perennial habitats for Central European farmland spiders (2005, background): “, 2002) and in Phragmites reed beds disturbed by winter cutting (Schmidt et al., 2004).”
The decline of Afro-Palaearctic migrants and an assessment of potential causes (2014, unknown): “Commercial harvesting of reeds leads to reduced arthropod abundance compared with unmanaged reed beds (Schmidt et al. 2005), reducing the suitability for a number of species, including the Eurasian Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus (Graveland 1999) and Purple Heron Ardea purpurea (Barbraud et al.”