Monitoring Farmland Birds - Meetnet Agrarische Soorten (MAS)
from 31/03/2023 until 15/07/2029
The state of biodiversity in the agricultural area is deteriorating, with negative consequences for biodiversity outside the agricultural area, for agriculture itself and for resilience to climate change. With this project called MAS (meaning 'farmland bird monitoring') we started a monitoring network for farmland birds. A pilot monitoring grid in two specific regions was expanded to a wider area in 2023, and covered all main agricultural areas in Flanders in 2024. Therefore we designed a sampling method that covers a gradient of the most relevant variables. From these random points, counts are carried out within a 300 meter radius, mapping all visible bird and mammal species, using the MAS methodology.
Aim
With the Species Protection Programme (SBP) Farmland Birds, the Flemish Government is investing in aimed actions in order to help threatened field birds. Since 2021, the INBO-project (‘INBO’ is the Dutch abbreviation of ‘Research Institute for Nature and Forest’) named ‘Monitoring Farmland Birds’ (MAS) aims to verify if this programme is successful, and if so, in which regions, and if the Flemish agricultural policy is really helping field birds. By carrying out counts, MAS is following the trends of birds living in farmland more accurately than the already existing monitoring networks. Mammals are also taken into account in this research.
In addition to the counts, MAS is carrying out research on the breeding success and foraging behaviour of some vulnerable species like the sky lark, corn bunting and yellowhammer. For these species, we research in a more detailed way the correlation between the number of territories (observed during the counts) and the real breeding success on one hand and the success factors on the other.
About funding
Funding bodies: Vlaamse overheid
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Profile image design by: Johannes Jansen
Created Jan. 13, 2025, 6:31 p.m.
Updated Jan. 30, 2025, 1:05 p.m.
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