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Danish report: New Report on the Exploitation of Sugar Beet Fields by Geese and Swans

The report is a thesis conducted by student Sandie Lohse Sørensen, Aarhus University, Mail: 201705597@post.au.dk, tel.: 40 45 48 10

Landowners in Guldborgsund Municipality are experiencing increasing problems with foraging barnacle geese on their crops, particularly impacting winter crops such as winter wheat, grass seeds, and winter rapeseed. Aarhus University has been collaborating with stakeholders in the area for several years to investigate the challenges and find common solutions. One option to mitigate the challenges with barnacle geese is to establish accomodation fields in the form of sugar beet waste fields. This has yielded positive results, but some landowners have shown skepticism towards the idea, only designating sugar beet waste fields on a smaller scale. Based on interviews with landowners, this study (part 1) identifies several barriers as the reason for landowners' hesitancy and suggests the following elements to work on to overcome some of these barriers. There is a need for (1) more information about barnacle geese behavior, (2) experience exchange among landowners on effective collaboration models, and (3) increased communication about the use of relief fields between landowners and their hunting lessees.

The adaptability of barnacle geese to farmland has once again been demonstrated by their recent foraging on unharvested sugar beet fields in the study area. This is a new issue investigated in part 2 of this report, where through studies of damage to beets and bird counts, it is documented that geese and swans are causing damage to unharvested beets. An economic calculation shows that beet damage on eight examined fields is less than 1% of the fields' economic yield. In total, 10% of the sugar beet fields in the area were exploited by geese and swans before harvest. It is therefore not considered a extensive problem, but there are signs that the phenomenon is increasing, and it is uncertain whether it could become an economic issue for landowners in the future.

Read the report here. (English summary)

Hybridkonference arrangeret hos IDA

Adaptiv naturforvaltning som værktøj, når natur og mennesker kolliderer

Ulven kommer! Gæs, flagermus og rovfugle tvinger vindmøller i knæ! Kronvildt ødelægger afgrøder!

Der er konflikter nok at tage af, konflikter mellem naturen og vildtet på den ene side og vores behov for livskvalitet, udvikling og indtjening på den anden. Her kommer adaptiv naturforvaltning, et nyt forskningsbaseret værktøj, ind og kan være med til at få tingene til at fungere, så der er plads til alle.

Hør vildtforskeren, samfundsforskeren, Vildtforvaltningsrådet og Miljøstyrelsen give deres syn på det nye værktøj og få indblik i, hvordan du kan bruge værktøjet i din forvaltning, hvad enten det er i staten eller i kommunerne.

Program

9.00 Velkomst v/Ole Hertel, IDA Miljø

9.05 Vildtforvaltning og Adaptiv naturforvaltning – kompatible størrelser? v/Jan Eriksen, Formand for Vildforvaltningsrådet

9.35 Kort pause

9.40 Hvorfor adaptiv naturforvaltning? Vildtforskerens perspektiv v/Jesper Madsen, professor ved Center for Adaptiv Naturforvaltning,
                            Institut for Ecoscience, Aarhus Universitet

10.25 Pause

10.35 Adaptiv naturforvaltning flytter både mennesker og dyr v/Hans Peter Hansen, seniorforsker ved Center for Adaptiv Naturforvaltning,
                           Institut for Ecoscience, Aarhus Universitet

11.20 Kort pause

11.25 Adaptiv naturforvaltning i et forvaltningsperspektiv – ambitionsniveau, fordele og ulemper v/Jens Skovager Østergaard,
                           kontorchef for Arter & Naturbeskyttelse, Miljøstyrelsen

11.55 Paneldrøftelse

12.15 Afrunding

12.20 Konferencen er slut

Fysisk: https://ida.dk/arrangementer-og-kurser/arrangementer/adaptiv-naturforvaltning-som-vaerktoj-nar-natur-og-mennesker-kolliderer-351867

Online: https://ida.dk/arrangementer-og-kurser/arrangementer/adaptiv-naturforvaltning-som-vaerktoj-nar-natur-og-mennesker-kolliderer-351868

Der er åbent for tilmelding og arrangementet bliver annonceret oktober i IDA Miljøs nyhedsmail.

On the search for grasslands: long distance dispersal of spring‑staging Barnacle Geese (Branta leucopsis) from a farmland area in Southeast Denmark

Madsen, J., Pedersen, J., Cao, L., & Clausen, K. K. (2022). On the search for grasslands: long distance dispersal of spring-staging Barnacle Geese (Branta leucopsis) from a farmland area in Southeast DenmarkJournal of Ornithology.

In early March 2019, twenty barnacle geese wintering in an intensively farmed area in Southeast Denmark were GPS-tagged. Tagged geese selected large open (especially permanent) grasslands above relative availability and close to their roosts, although winter cereals were also used. Surprisingly, during March and April almost all tagged birds left the area and moved to coastal grasslands in other parts of Denmark, the German Wadden Sea or southern Sweden, some up to 210 km diametrically opposite to the main migratory direction towards the Russian Arctic later in spring. The unexpected long distance dispersal may be caused by lack of suitable short-grazed coastal grasslands in the study area and it shows that barnacle geese are highly flexible in their site use.

Read the full article here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-021-01952-3

Barnacle goose Branta leucopsis derogation shooting effort in relation to abundance and vulnerable crops

Heldbjerg, H., Clausen, K. K., Balsby, T. J. S., Clausen, P., Nielsen, R. D., Skov, F., Nyegaard, T., & Madsen, J. (2022). Barnacle goose Branta leucopsis derogation shooting effort in relation to abundance and vulnerable cropsAgriculture, Ecosystems & Environment325, [107746].

The population of barnacle geese wintering in Denmark has shown a steep increase during the last decades to now c. 250,000 geese, prompting a parallel escalation of agricultural conflicts. Barnacle goose is listed in Annex 1 of the Birds Directive and is protected from legal hunting. However, landowners can obtain a permit to undertake so-called derogation shooting (lethal scaring) to reduce local damage to agricultural crops where other means of scaring have been insufficient. Totally close to 20,000 barnacle geese are killed annually by derogation shooting in Denmark now. In this paper, we show that the number of barnacle geese during winter and the derogation efforts of barnacle geese have increased in Denmark in the period 2010/11 – 2018/19 with large variation between different areas of the country. A statistical analysis demonstrates that differences in the number of issued derogations permits across the country are primarily explained by differences in barnacle goose abundance, and secondarily, by prevalence of vulnerable crops and differences in crop productivity. Hence, derogation efforts are highest in areas with many geese, high proportions of crops vulnerable to goose grazing and high crop yields.

Read the full article here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880921004503

Waterfowl grazing on winter wheat: Quantifying yield loss and compensatory growth

Clausen, K. K., Damsgaard Thorsted, M., Pedersen, J., & Madsen, J. (2022). Waterfowl grazing on winter wheat: Quantifying yield loss and compensatory growthAgriculture, Ecosystems & Environment332, [107936].

Geese and swans have increasingly adapted to forage on agricultural land, and winter wheat is the most commonly reported crop damaged in northern Europe. This study, carried out in Southeast Denmark in collaboration between Aarhus University and SEGES innovation, apply two parallel approaches (exclosure experiments in undisturbed fields and yield assessments in fields subject to scaring) to quantify the impact of waterfowl grazing on winter wheat yield, crop height and nutrient content. The involved species were mainly barnacle geese, but other species of geese and whooper swans were also present in smaller numbers. Results showed that waterfowl grazing led to a substantial reduction in crop height during winter and early spring, but also that compensatory growth led to no significant effect on crop height at the time of harvest. In terms of grain yield, the effect of waterfowl grazing varied from non-significant to a 6 % loss, and exclosure experiments indicated that plots grazed both winter and spring had a protein content 9 % lower than ungrazed plots. While these figures express an economic loss to the affected farmers, they also indicate that substantial economic impacts from grazing geese and swans on winter wheat was rare in the study area. This may also be the case elsewhere in Northern Europe when most waterfowl abandon crop foraging in due time to allow for compensatory growth in late spring.

Read the full artichle here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880922000858

How a Toxic Battle Over Wolves in Europe Became a Productive Conversation

For 200 years, no wolves had been seen in Denmark. Then, in 2012, birdwatchers spotted a wolf trotting along in the countryside, having crossed over from Germany. Soon, a female appeared. Five years later, seven wolf puppies were seen romping across the land, like they belonged there. Now that qualified as a “pack".

High Conflict by Amanda Ripley: How a Danish town addressed conflict over wolves. (slate.com)

Marts 2021: Nyhedsbrev for ’Kronvildt, viden, værdier og værktøjer’

Jan. 2021: Velplejede strandenge kan lokke grådige gæs væk fra markerne

Store flokke af bramgæs kan nogle steder lave omfattende skader på markernes afgrøder. Velplejede strandenge og ferske enge kan lokke det stigende antal gæs væk fra markerne, viser undersøgelser i Guldborgsund Kommune.

Læs artiklen her

Læs om projektet på projektsiden her

Oct. 2020: Grant for experiments with barnacle goose management on Lolland-Falster

In 2019-2020, Aarhus University has carried out a number of studies concerning the management of barnacle geese in Guldborgsund Municipality on Lolland-Falster, funded by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. As a follow-up to the project, the June 15 Foundation has now given a grant of 1.6 mill. DKK for a continuation of the project. The purpose is to find an efficient model for managing the barnacle geese, which occur in large numbers and which cause damage to agricultural crops. This must be done by laying out alternative foraging areas for the geese on beet fields after harvest and on salt marshes, respectively, combined with scaring away on fields where they cause damage.

You can read more about the experiment here.

Sept. 2020: Student reports from the course Fauna Ecology and Adaptive Management

In spring 2020, 20 biology students completed the course Wildlife Ecology and Adaptive Management at Aarhus University. The students undertook group projects that resulted in four suggestions for adaptive management plans. The plans were based on the theoretical framework for adaptive management and the biological and societal conditions characterising the issues at hand. The students interviewed a number of key persons among both scientists and authorities as well as other interested parties. Covid-19 prevented actual field work.

The reports available for download here.

M.Sc. course in adaptive management of wildlife

Aarhus University offers a M.Sc. course (10 ECTS) with focus on adaptive management of wildlife.

The course will give participants an introduction to the ecology and management of wildlife, focusing on mammals and birds, and working with the development of adaptive concepts for management. This includes sustainable harvest, management of problematic species, invasive species as well as conservation of threatened species and their habitats. The course is run by Centre for Adaptive Nature Management, Department of Bioscience.

PhD defence, Thursday 12 April 2018, James Henty Williams

Don’t Forget Humans and Their Peculiarities: Are Human Related Uncertainties a Blind Spot for Adaptive Nature Management?

CAN Open Seminar - Wednesday 11 April 13.30-15.30

Location: Salen, Jagtslottet, Kalø

Chair: Jesper Madsen

Guest speakers:

  • M. Nils Peterson, University Faculty Scholar, North Carolina State University, USA:
    • Predicting recreational pathways to connection to nature among youth
  • Johan Elmberg, Professor, Kristianstad University, Sweden:
    • How can we make management of geese on agricultural land more effective? A lesson from Sweden

Dagbladet Holstebro-Struer: Ulvedebatten er kun lige begyndt (Danish)

Hans Peter Hansen er blevet interviewet til Dagbladet Holstebro-Struer omkring ulvedebatten. Han mener, at vi kun lige har set begyndelsen på en ulvedebat, der kan blive mere voldsom. Hans Peter udtaler sig ud fra lignende debatter fra andre lande:

https://dagbladet-holstebro-struer.dk/artikel/349576

Nogle dage blev Caroline Mikkelsen interviewet til samme avis i forbindelse med en række beboermøder omkring at leve med ulven som nabo:

https://dagbladet-holstebro-struer.dk/holstebro/Naboer-til-ulven-Politikerne-gemmer-sig-i-debatten/artikel/348524

Scientists invite the Danes to keep an eye on the wolves (Danish article)

Hjælp os med at finde de danske ulve. Sådan lyder opfordringen fra de forskere, der arbejder med at kortlægge den danske ulvebestand.

Læs mere her:

Possible hunting on the gray goose in August (Danish)

Bestanden af grågæs er nu så stor, at det overvejes at udvide jagttiden. De mange gæs laver betydelige skader på landmændenes afgrøder.

Læs mere her:

 

Strong local interest in dialogue project on Danish wolf-management

On a public meeting in the village of Idom Tuesday 22nd August the local citizens from Idom and Raasted expressed a strong interest participating in a Critical- Utopian Citizens Dialogue process on wolf-management. The meeting was organized in collaboration with the Village Committee of Idom-Raasted, two master students and Centre for Adaptive Nature Management at Aarhus University. The Critical- Utopian Citizens Dialogue process will during the next six months offer the local citizens the opportunity to formulate and express their critique and concerns regarding the wolves and the wolf- management. The citizens will also get the opportunity the develop their own visions and suggestions  for the future wolf management and, during the process, get answers to some of their questions in dialogue with the best available experts to ensure that the local ideas and suggestions are rooted in the best available facts and knowledge. 51 local citizens participated in the meeting and by the end of the meeting the first 36 had registered for the dialogue process starting up in September 2017.

The project is a pilot and it is the ambitions of the research team that the pilot will generate experiences useful for an upscaling of the project so that citizens in other areas close to wolf-areas will be offered the same dialogue- and learnings opportunity as in the Idom-Raasted area. It is furthermore the ambition that politicians and authorities, based on the experiences from the work, can be offered some better tools to involve local citizens in wildlife management and nature conservation in the future.

Watch TV broadcast shown before the meeting.

Citizens perspectives on Danish wolf-management

In collaboration with the The Village Committee of Idom-Raasted, two master students and Centre for Adaptive Nature Management at Aarhus University, citizens of Idom-Råsted was invited to participate in a public meeting on a possible future Critical- Utopian Citizens Dialogue process on wolf-management. The villages of Idom-Råsted is very close to the area where the first Danish wolf pack in 200 years was spotted earlier this summer.  If the local citizens are interested in such a dialogue- and learning process to be arranged in the area, they will within the next six months get the opportunity to formulate and express their critique and concerns regarding the wolves and the wolf- management. They will also get the opportunity the develop their own visions and suggestions for the future wolf management and, during the process, get answers to some of their questions through a dialogue with the available best experts on the field.

Democracy in wolfskin (Danish)

Lupus. I løbet af bare to-tre år har vi fået den samme ballade mellem ulvekrammere og -hadere, som vores nordiske naboer har døjet med i 30 år. Nu er der ansat en samfundsforsker blandt biologerne på Kalø for at lære naturforvaltningen at lytte til borgerne.

Læs interview til Weekendavisen her (PDF)

Article: Nature has become a political battlefield (Danish)

Naturen er blevet en politisk kampplads

Den danske natur er et fælles gode. Alligevel er den blevet til en politisk kampplads, fordi borgere, politikere og erhvervsfolk alle har forskellige ønsker for forvaltningen af den. Det skal et nyt rådgivningscenter jonglere med fremover.

Læs hele artiklen på Videnskab.dk

Gak til gåsen (Danish)

Globalt vildt. Dyr passerer uhindret menneskers grænser. Det er en af grundene til, at de enkelte landes forsøg på at regulere problematiske v...

Gode erfaringer med forvaltning af den voksende bestand af kortnæbbede gæs fra Belgien til Svalbard har vist en ny vej, som snart vil brede sig t...

Læs som pdf her.

Vi tænker for kortsigtet om problemdyr (Danish)

Interview bragt i Landbrugsavisen den 11. april 2017:

Debat om problemdyr har givet skæv byrdefordeling. Landmænd skal ikke bære ansvaret alene, mener professor.

http://landbrugsavisen.dk/vi-t%C3%A6nker-kortsigtet-om-problemdyr

Geese threaten air traffic (Danish)

Geese begin to threaten nature, agriculture and air traffic

Many parts of Europe are beginning to experience an annual biological 'invasion' from the air in recent years. This ‘invasion’ is beginning to pose new challenges to air traffic, nature conservation and agriculture as the numbers of some northern-breeding wild goose populations have exploded. Many parts of Europe are beginning to experience an annual biological 'invasion' from the air in recent years. This ‘invasion’ is beginning to pose new challenges to air traffic, nature conservation and agriculture as the numbers of some northern-breeding wild goose populations have exploded.

Read more here.

Opening reception

The Centre for Adaptive Nature Management at Aarhus University opens at Kalø March 28 2017, 14 p.m.

To celebrate this, a reception will be held, where we will give a short presentation of the centre, the vision, the organization and the participants.

At the reception there will be served smoked trout, pheasant patties and fizz.

Please register for participation.

Looking forward to seeing you.

Jesper Madsen