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

Herbivorous waterfowl populations have increasingly adapted to forage on agricultural land and triggered a parallel rise in damage crops. Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) is the most commonly reported crop damaged northern Europe, farmers demand management actions mitigate economic impacts. Here, we apply two approaches (exclosure experiments undisturbed fields yield assessments subject scaring) quantify impact of grazing winter yield, height nutrient content. We demonstrate that led substantial reduction during early spring, but also compensatory growth no significant effect at time harvest. In terms grain varied from non-significant 6% loss, scaring, negative was only when continued into spring (the case for 7.6% area sampled). addition, exclosure indicated plots grazed both had protein content 9% lower than ungrazed plots. While these figures express an loss affected farmers, our findings indicate impacts rare study area. This may be elsewhere temperate region, abandon foraging due allow late as long developmental stages survive grazing. A scaring effort limited were seemed prevent winter. Future decision-making relation waterfowl-agriculture conflict benefit studies looking in-depth costs benefits associated with efforts.