Conservation of grassland birds in South Brazil: a land management perspective

Abstract

We explored how grassland birds responded to three different managements in grassland areas. Moreover, we examined whether bird's communities were different depending on the biome grasslands were inserted. We carried out bird surveys in six private farms in the Upland grasslands (Atlantic Forest biome) and the Pampas grasslands (Pampa biome). Land use included: (1) natural grasslands – paddocks with cattle stocking around 0.8 animal units/ha, without improvement/crop plantation in the last four years; (2) improved grasslands – grasslands with usage of fertilizers and forage improvement with exotic species, and (3) cultivated fields – forage/crop plantations. Threatened and restricted grassland birds were found in natural grasslands areas while more common species occurred in improved grasslands and cultivated fields. Bird community was different in the biomes with some species more related to the Upland grasslands and others to the Pampas. We highlighted the importance of natural grasslands and its management in private farms to maintain grassland bird species richness and their abundance in south Brazil.