Open Access

Katharina Adler

• Methods of intensive land use and structural impoverishment of landscapes have been shown to have a strong negative impact on biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Due to increasing population numbers and growing yield demands on less land, the sustainable management of utilised biotope types in agricultural landscapes has become a key topic of biodiversity research. More than any other bird species group, birds of the agricultural landscape have experienced massive population declines throughout Germany and Europe in recent years. The majority of research projects carried out in this area relate to annual crops. However, permanent crops, such as fruit plantation, vineyards and timber plantations, have received little attention in biodiversity research to date. Due to ongoing climate change, vineyards will also become increasinglyMethods of intensive land use and structural impoverishment of landscapes have been shown to have a strong negative impact on biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Due to increasing population numbers and growing yield demands on less land, the sustainable management of utilised biotope types in agricultural landscapes has become a key topic of biodiversity research. More than any other bird species group, birds of the agricultural landscape have experienced massive population declines throughout Germany and Europe in recent years. The majority of research projects carried out in this area relate to annual crops. However, permanent crops, such as fruit plantation, vineyards and timber plantations, have received little attention in biodiversity research to date. Due to ongoing climate change, vineyards will also become increasingly important outside the Mediterranean region, replacing more and more semi-natural habitats. This makes it all the more important to understand how these cultures affect biodiversity and how this can be sustainably managed. Wine-growing areas offer potentially attractive living conditions for avifauna: The wooden structures of the vines, greening between the rows of vines and a mosaic with neighbouring unused structures can provide suitable habitat structures for different species. In many cases, however, viticulture is characterised by intensive management regimes with frequent disturbance events such as pesticide application, tillage or mowing of the species-poor green alleys and removal of marginal structures. Various studies show that these factors in crop monocultures have a major influence on bird diversity. The aim of this thesis was to analyse the influence of different landscape structures on the bird community in wine-growing areas and the influence of these bird communities on viticulture in terms of grape damage. The following studies were carried out for this purpose: -A literature study on the main influencing factors already identified in the scientific literature was compiled for both topics. -Two wine-growing regions in Germany (Rheingau and Rheinhessen) were analysed in a case study. Bird species were recorded throughout 2020 and 2021 and then analysed with data on the composition and structure of the landscape, which were collected by digitising orthophotos and verifying them on site. -In a further field study in Napa Valley (CA, USA), grape damage caused by birds in six vineyards was recorded and analysed with data from the landscape as well as vineyard management to determine which structures made grapes particularly enticing as food for birds.…