Alto Guadiato, Campiñas de Sevilla, Laguna de Fuente de Piedra and Lagunas de Campillos, Andalusia, Spain
Project ended
Local level
Andalusia holds Europe’s richest diversity of steppe-land birds, many of which are threatened by habitat loss, intensive agriculture and unnatural mortality. The EU-funded LIFE ZEPA ESTEPARIAS ANDALUCIA project developed and tested a Natura 2000-based management model that integrates crop and pasture management, targeted habitat measures and farmer incentives to conserve key steppe bird species while keeping farms economically viable. Through collaboration agreements with farmers and local stakeholders across four Special Protection Areas for Birds (SPAs), the project showed that productive farming and steppe-bird conservation can be made compatible at landscape scale.
Andalusia contains 25 steppe-land bird species, 15 of which are threatened, and has the highest diversity of this bird group in Spain and Europe. According to the regional Red List, 82% of non-passerine and 43% of passerine steppe birds in Andalusia are endangered, largely due to habitat deterioration, loss of nesting sites and non-natural mortality from unintentional electrocution, harvesting machinery and collisions. The key habitats are open agricultural landscapes of cereals, sunflowers and natural pasture, which are mainly managed for intensive agricultural production. In 2008, the designation of heavily farmed areas as Natura 2000 SPAs created uncertainty and resistance among local communities, who feared conservation rules would threaten their livelihoods. The project was launched to reduce this tension by building a management model that protects steppe birds, secures farm incomes and presents SPAs as assets for sustainable rural development.
The project implemented a nature-based management model across four Natura 2000 SPAs for birds in Andalusia, centred on adapting cropping systems and landscape features to favour steppe birds while maintaining productive agriculture. Through voluntary collaboration agreements, farmers adopted diversified rotations, delayed harvesting, stubble retention, legumes, grasslands and vegetated olive groves to create a more heterogeneous steppe habitat. Structural measures such as nesting buildings and boxes, adapted transformers, marked fences, hedges and ponds were added to increase nesting opportunities, reduce collision and electrocution risks, and secure water supplies in critical periods. Communication, education and tourism-related actions complemented field measures to build local support for Natura 2000 and to frame steppe-bird conservation as a driver of sustainable rural development.
Interventions were selected and implemented to make arable and pastoral farming within the Special Protection Areas (SPAs) compatible with the conservation of steppe-land birds, by managing farmland as functional habitat and reducing key sources of non-natural mortality. Delivery relied on formal collaboration agreements between landowners, farmers and the public administrations, enabling farmers to apply the measures directly on their land. In total, 190 agreements were signed, covering over 15,600 ha across the target SPAs.
Habitat management through crop and pasture measures focused on creating a “crop patchwork” that increases food availability, shelter and nesting opportunities. Farmers diversified cropping patterns and rotations (notably cereals, sunflowers and legumes), including sowing rain-fed legumes (winter and spring types such as vetch, sulla, peas and chickpeas) and establishing non-irrigated forage legumes and grasslands. Cereal management was adjusted to better align with birds breeding periods: harvesting was delayed until the end of June, cutting height was increased to at least 25 cm, and stubble was retained in fields until the end of August on at least 30% of the cereal-devoted areas. Additional habitat elements included maintaining or establishing vegetation cover between rows in olive groves, using species favourable to steppe birds (legumes and some grasses). Moreover, creating pastures using native species (with preference for subterranean clover), while restricting traditional livestock grazing.
To directly prevent birds breeding failure caused by harvesting machinery, the project implemented “purchase of harvests” (standing crops) in nesting areas of priority bird species, such as Montagu’s harrier, great bustard and little bustard. Under these agreements, selected plots were left unharvested based on their ornithological importance (e.g. confirmed breeding), providing cover and food during the birds breeding season. A complementary measure, “purchase of stubble production”, secured harvested cereal fields where straw had not yet been removed, keeping higher vegetation cover through the summer. This maintained shelter retained spilled grain for feeding adults and chicks, and supported insect fauna important in the birds’ diet.
Measures to reduce mortality risks addressed both fencing and electricity infrastructure. Traditional livestock fences topped with barbed wire were made more visible to birds by attaching durable, bright white plastic markers (e.g. expanded polystyrene) as rectangular slats placed about 2 metres apart at varying heights, to create visual heterogeneity. In parallel, the project carried out an exhaustive analysis of “black spots” of unintentional collision/electrocution on power lines and adapted electrical infrastructure, including electrical transformers and roofs, to reduce mortality (notably for lesser kestrel).
Landscape features beyond cropped fields were strengthened by maintaining and creating natural boundaries and small refuges of vegetation along field edges, hedges, roads and riverbanks. An inventory of hedges and boundaries was produced, and new hedges/boundaries were created (totalling 26,700 m), supporting wider wildlife and providing structure within the crop mosaic.
To address water scarcity during critical summer breeding periods, ponds and birdbaths were constructed, particularly in areas with limited water availability. Site selection followed species’ preferences for open, vegetation-free surroundings, mid-slope locations, and distance from infrastructure such as roads, tracks and rural buildings. Water troughs and ponds were installed to provide reliable water points.
For species dependent on buildings for nesting (lesser kestrel and European roller), nesting infrastructure was added to counter the loss of suitable sites due to abandonment and deterioration of rural buildings. Four purpose-built kestrel nest-box buildings were constructed and two old electrical transformers were restored for nesting use in Campiñas de Sevilla and Laguna de Fuente de Piedra. The nest-box buildings were square structures approximately 3.5 m long and 7 m high, with 25–80 nest cavities located in the upper third, designed to also accommodate other species (e.g. owls, bats). These structures were rapidly occupied after construction.
Implementation also included trials of monitoring innovation: pilot thermal remote sensing was tested to detect great bustard nests, but this approach was not successful.
A key implementation challenge was local concern and uncertainty linked to designating working farmland as protected Natura 2000 SPAs for birds. The project addressed this concern by combining the on-farm measures with sustained communication and dissemination, and by co-developing and managing measures with farmers and local stakeholders to build trust and improve acceptance. The documentation notes that embedding new practices (e.g. direct sowing) requires longer timeframes than the project period for widespread uptake.
Information not available yet.
