Villages and their old farmsteads are hot spots of bird diversity in agricultural landscapes

摘要

1. To counteract the decline of farmland biodiversity in Europe, it is crucial to recognize habitats that are hot spots. Old rural settlements (e.g. villages) may be such important habitats, although these presumably biodiversity-rich habitats have received little attention. Socioeconomic changes in central-eastern Europe since 1989 mean that old homesteads and farmsteads are being replaced by new ones.