Effective nature conservation requires a focus on species and people
Protecting the habitats of wildlife such as meadow birds is a moral obligation that must be taken on by a rich country like the Netherlands. Otherwise, birds that have made their home here for millions of years will die out. And it isn't because these species are incapable of adaptation. A more important reason is the increasingly rapid homogenization of their habitat. In conservation, the support of nature users is indispensable. These statements are made by Professor David Kleijn in his inaugural speech as professor of Plant Ecology and Nature Management at Wageningen University on 7 April.
Archaeological excavations show that the typical Dutch meadow bird, the black-tailed godwit, was already an inhabitant of the expansive marshlands in our region when the first humans settled here. Large areas of the marshy land consisted of shallow depressions filled with water and slight elevations of peat, like we still see in Estonia where black-tailed godwits can be found nesting in this type of habitat.
In our country, the moorlands were opened up and the peat was extracted until the original landscape was converted into flowering pastures and meadows. The black-tailed godwit managed to adapt perfectly to this new environment thanks to an increased food supply. In recent decades, however, the landscape is changing far too quickly for the birds to adapt. 'The conclusion is that it's not the changes themselves that are causing problems for our national bird, but the rate of change,' says Professor Kleijn. Species like the European hamster, the indigenous freshwater crayfish and the shrill carder bee are facing a similar fate.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-04-effective-nature-requires-focus-species.html#jCp
