January
23, 2019, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Land
conservation programs that have converted tens of thousands of acres of
agricultural land in Illinois back to a more natural state appear to have
helped some rare birds increase their populations to historic levels, a new
study finds. Other bird species with wider geographic ranges have not fared as
well, however.
The
research, reported in the journal Ecosphere, finds that one of the
four species studied,
the Bell's vireo (Vireo bellii bellii),
has bounced back from historic declines to more than double its last estimated
abundance in Illinois.
"This
increase surpasses state goals set for the bird in 2004, and speaks to some of
the successes of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, a national
effort begun in 1996 to improve water quality, reduce erosion and restore lands
and wildlife once lost to agricultural expansion," said Illinois Natural
History Survey avian ecologist Bryan Reiley, who led the study. "Other
rare birds—particularly those most reliant on early succession grasslands—are
still struggling, however."
The
growth of agriculture "has negatively affected biodiversity throughout the
world," the study authors wrote. Grassland species have experienced some
of the sharpest declines. Conservation programs like CREP use monetary
incentives to entice private landowners to
voluntarily convert some of their land back to grasslands, wetlands or forest.
More than 140,000 acres have been restored so far in Illinois through CREP.
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