Farmland composition and farming practices explain spatio-temporal variations in red-legged partridge density in central Spain

Many farmland bird populations are declining, and their negative trends are often associated with changes in land-use or farming practices, including the use of agrochemicals. The red-legged partridge (RLP) is a Mediterranean farmland game species of high socio-economic importance whose populations are thought to have declined sharply since the mid-20th century associated with farmland changes. However, no large-scale studies have tested whether abundance or trends of RLP are related to farmland composition or management. We used hierarchical distance sampling models to estimate RLP abundance in 2010 in central Spain (Castilla-La Mancha), a main European population stronghold of this species. We studied associations between RLP density and land-uses (including variation in management: irrigated crops or organic farming). We also assessed regional abundance variation over seven years (2010–2017) and its relationship with changes in land-use. Our results show that RLP abundance increased with the availability of natural vegetation and traditional rain-fed vineyards, but decreased with increasing proportions of tree crops and irrigated vineyards; the latter association was less pronounced in areas sensitive to nitrate contamination in water, where the amount of fertilizers applied in farmland and use of certain farming practices is more strictly regulated. These results support the idea that increases in intensive vineyards are detrimental to the RLP. We also report a strong population decline of RLP in the region, with a 51% abundance reduction in seven years. This decline was steeper in areas where more natural vegetation had been lost and where ecological tree crops had increased. Overall, our results indicate that changes in land-use (type of crop, or the destruction of natural vegetation in farmland) and farming practices (e.g. use of irrigation in certain crops, use of nitrates) have important impacts on this farmland bird, affecting both spatial distribution and population dynamics. [Display omitted] •Red-legged partridge density depends on land-use and farmland management.•Density increases with the availability of pastures and rain-fed vineyards.•Lower density is related to increasing irrigated vineyards, modulated by nitrate regulation.•Red-legged partridge density declined by 51% from 2010 to 2017.•Steeper declines are linked with the loss of pastures and the spread of tree crops.