Bird taxonomic and functional responses to land abandonment in wood-pastures

Wood-pastures are socio-ecological systems covering vast areas in Europe. Although used for grazing and production of various forest goods, wood-pastures harbour a rich biodiversity usually considered as High Nature Value Farmlands. However, socio-economic pressures driving the transformation these valuable landscapes from multi-functional, heterogeneous habitats to homogeneous through either intensification or land abandonment. We investigated how changes management intensity influence taxonomic diversity, functional diversity composition birds using generalized linear models. In contrast decreased significantly towards shrub-dominated less related abandonment and/or understory practices. Grassland generalist species, associated guilds such granivores, ground-nesters ground-foragers almost absent managed areas. On other hand, favour particularly understory/canopy foragers arboreal nesters, although guild is still well-represented actively managed, Our results indicate wood-pasture affects prevalence grassland leading loss potentially reduced ecosystem functioning. suggest non-intensive, active needed maintain habitat heterogeneity canopy openness, enhancing trait wood-pastures.