Mixed effectiveness of French agri-environment schemes for nationwide farmland bird conservation

► We model the response of farmland bird abundances to agri-environment schemes. ► Long-term declining species most benefit from biodiversity-friendly AES. ► AES do not always meet the ecological requirements of farmland birds. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the effectiveness of French AES to enhance farmland bird diversity on a national scale. Abundances of 19 farmland species were modelled in response to AES and then, the relationship between responses of bird to AES and the national population trends of the respective species were explored. Results suggest that AES are implemented at suitable locations to promote biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Besides, long-term declining species are identified as those that benefit the most from biodiversity-dedicated AES. AES management may not be sufficiently well adapted to the ecological requirements of targeted farmland bird species, given the lack of statistically significant responses. Thus, it is concluded that AES have the potential to protect the abundance strongholds of farmland birds, but apparently fail to enhance ongoing population trends.