Abundance of arthropods as food for meadow bird chicks in response to short- and long-term soil wetting in Dutch dairy grasslands

Background: Throughout the world, intensive dairy farming has resulted in grasslands almost devoid of arthropods and birds. Meadow birds appear to be especially vulnerable during the chick-rearing period. So far, studies have focused mainly on describing population declines, but solutions to effectively stop these trends on the short-term are lacking. In this study at a single farm, we experimentally manipulated soil moisture through occasional irrigation, to mitigate against early season drainage and create favorable conditions for the emergence of above-ground arthropods during the meadow bi... Mehr ...