Wetlands are among the most species-rich environments and important for biodiversity. The area of Swedish wetlands has decreased significantly over the past century, primarily due to drainage for forestry and agriculture. The volume of standing trees on peatlands increased by 75% between 1980 and 2000. Large conservation efforts aim to protect and restore wetlands, necessitating informed and effective actions. This study investigates whether populations of wetland birds in Dalarna County, Sweden, have been affected by increased tree growthbetween the 1970s and the 2010s. Using data from bird inventories conducted by Dalarnas Ornitologiska Förening and Länsstyrelsen Dalarna on 110 wetlands, a linear regression model examined the relationship between changes in the number of selected wetland birds and vegetation changes per wetland area. Vegetation changes, derived from Naturvårdsverkets satellite-based monitoring program, showed that the proportion of areas with increased biomass varied from none to 11.5%. The study found no significant relationship between vegetation changes and changes in the total number of waders or in the number of individual wetland bird species. Key ecological requirements for wetland bird species, such as low tree height and wetness, may have remained sufficiently intact to avoid affecting bird numbers, given the relatively small vegetation changes detected. Identifying areas with high conservation values and understanding how the threat of increased biomass affects these values is important to achieve the environmental goal of "Thriving Wetlands", necessitating continued monitoring to detect possible future changes and address issues promptly.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:umu-226220 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Fagerlund, Amanda |
| Publisher | Umeå universitet, Institutionen för ekologi, miljö och geovetenskap |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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