Management of Conventional Orchards Shaping the Reproductive Bird Community

Özet

The aim of this research was to characterise the breeding birdassemblage inhabiting an intensively cultivated, conventional appleorchard in central Poland (51°41′45.1″N, 20°42′08.9″E) and to assessthe consequences of this kind of management. The density of birds insuch habitats is high, but the species composition is poor. Breedingsuccess was evaluated and habitat parameters were described. Thechemicals currently applied do not appear to restrict the speciescomposition of breeding birds. A bigger problem in this contextemerges from how the trees are trained and spaced in such anorchard: the crowns are pruned into a small, elongated rectangle andfrequently thinned, and the tree density is high. This study is thefirst one published in Poland that provides definitive evidence of theharmful consequences to breeding birds of intensifying cultivation inapple orchards.