DOI: 10.5061/dryad.m0cfxpph1
title: Year-round evaluation of the conservation potential of seed-rich field margins under agri-environmental schemes for farmland birds, European hares, and common hamsters

description: Field margins on arable land, such as seed-rich strips (SRS), are an
 important and widely implemented conservation measure under
 agri-environment schemes. They are intended to contribute to the provision
 of scarce food resources and shelter for various farmland species.
 Although SRS are primarily designed to provide critical resources for
 wildlife during the winter, they may also contribute to biodiversity
 conservation throughout the year and across the full annual cycle of
 farmland species. However, empirical evaluation of their conservation
 potential over the annual cycle and across multiple taxa is missing.
 Therefore, in this study, we conducted a year-round assessment of the
 conservation potential of SRS for several avian (farmland birds and
 seed-eating species in particular) and mammalian (European hares and
 common hamsters) farmland species in arable-dominated agricultural
 landscapes. Moreover, we investigated the role of the habitat
 context (i.e., SRS placed along farmland hedges or inside crop fields) of
 SRS on species abundance and diversity. Our results showed that during the
 entire year, SRS significantly increased farmland bird abundance and
 species diversity (including seed-eating species), as well as European
 hare and common hamster abundance, compared to the controls (i.e.,
 conventionally managed arable land). The SRS utilization varied
 seasonally, with bird abundance in them being significantly higher from
 late summer through winter, while European hare abundance increased
 significantly only in the autumn and winter months. Notably, the most
 substantial differences in farmland bird diversity between the SRS and
 control areas were observed from August to November, whereas the greatest
 disparities in bird abundance occurred during the winter months,
 particularly from December to February. The habitat context of the plots
 (both SRS and controls) generally did not affect the abundance or species
 diversity of farmland birds. However, the abundance and species diversity
 of seed-eating birds were higher in plots located along hedges. The
 opposite pattern was found for the European hare. We conclude that
 implementing SRS could significantly help in the conservation of avian and
 mammalian species in arable farmlands. This is true not only in the autumn
 and winter, when the dense and structurally complex vegetation in SRS
 offers abundant nutrient-rich seeds and cover, but also in the summer,
 when SRS provides invertebrates for a variety of farmland species.
description: # Year-round evaluation of the conservation potential of seed-rich field
 margins under agri-environmental schemes for farmland birds, European
 hares, and common hamsters Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.m0cfxpph1](10.5061/dryad.m0cfxpph1) ## Description of the
 data and file structure This dataset contains data on the year-round
 abundance and diversity of farmland birds in relation to seed-rich strips
 (SRS) and control plots in intensively-managed arable landscapes of
 Central Moravia, Czech Republic. The data were collected as part of an
 assessment of the conservation potential of SRS for avian biodiversity
 under agri-environment schemes. ### Files and variables #### File:
 dataset_2025-08-19.csv **Description:** The dataset contains monthly
 records of bird or mammal abundance at each study transect, including
 information on habitat type, landscape context, species identity, and
 spatial coordinates. ##### Variables * Code: Unique identifier for each
 study site. * SRS_C: Habitat type of the transect; “Seed-rich strip” (SRS
 established under agri-environmental schemes) or “Control” (adjacent
 arable land without SRS). * ID: Identifier for each study plot (SRS site
 with corresponding control site). * Lat: Latitude of the transect. * Lon:
 Longitude of the transect. * Transect_length: Length of the surveyed
 transect in meters. * Context: Habitat context of the transect; “hedge”
 (SRS/control along farmland hedges) or “field” (SRS/control within the
 field interior). * Adjacent_crops: Crop types present on both sides of the
 transect. * Month: Month of survey (integer; 1 = January, 2 = February,
 ...). * Species_latin: Scientific name of the species observed. *
 Occurrence_period: Period in months the species typically occurs in the
 Czech Republic (e.g., "1_12" for all year, "10_3" for
 October-March) * Diet: Typical diet of the species. * count_total: Total
 number of individuals of a given species recorded on a transect during a
 monthly survey. #### File: R_script_2025-08-19.R **Description:** This R
 script implements the analyses reported in the manuscript: data
 management, summary statistics, model fitting using GAMs, post-hoc
 comparisons, and graphical output. ## Code/software R script implements
 the analyses reported in the manuscript: data management, summary
 statistics, model fitting using GAMs, post-hoc comparisons, and graphical
 output. ## Access information NA