A recent international study indicates that the populations of peatland birds in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia and Latvia have decreased by a third during the past three decades. The situation in Finland is the most dire, and the species in most trouble is the Finnish ruff, as the population has fallen to approximately 3% of what it was at the beginning of the study period.

"The populations of many common peatland birds, such as the wood sandpiper, the meadow pipit, the yellow wagtail and the common reed bunting have gone down in Finland by a third or more since 1981," states Academy Research Fellow Aleksi Lehikoinen from Luomus, the Finnish Museum of Natural History, part of the University of Helsinki.

The only peatland bird to become more common in all of the countries mentioned is the crane, which has tripled its populations over the three decades. This is probably due to the reduced hunting of the species in areas where it winters and along its migration route.

Draining and the peat industry to blame
The poor situation of peatland birds can be attributed particularly to the diminishing natural peatlands resulting from decades of wetland draining and peat production.

"In general, peatland birds are much more plentiful on high, open fens and undrained swamps," explains Andreas Linden, senior researcher from Novia University of Applied Sciences.

In many areas, there have been efforts to transform wetlands into forests through draining. Finland has the most drained wetlands in all of northern Europe. Only 14% of Finnish peatlands are protected, most comprehensively in northern Lapland.

Approximately 75% of Estonian peatlands are now protected, and the study suggests that the country's populations of peatland birds are on the rise.

Finland should take responsibility for conservation
According to the researchers, the status of the peatland bird populations can be improved by protecting the existing peatlands and by rehabilitating previously drained fens and marshes.

"Because it has the largest area of wetlands, Finland has the greatest responsibility for maintaining the populations of peatland birds in the European Union. Consequently, we should place more effort on protecting and rehabilitating our wetlands," states Lehikoinen.

The study's data are based on long-term bird monitoring in northern Europe, and the results were published in the international series Biological Conservation.

Tweet

Pandas rebounding, but their habitat isn't: study
Paris (AFP) Sept 25, 2017
China's fiercely protected giant panda had a smaller habitat in 2013 than when it was declared endangered more than 20 years earlier, researchers said Monday. What living space they had was much more fragmented, and often in areas under threat from earthquakes, road construction, tourism or global warming, they wrote in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. Last year, the International ... read more

Related Links
University of Helsinki
Darwin Today At TerraDaily.com

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only