Lapointe et al. studied the effects of different grazing management on the abundance of songbirds in the Varennes islands in the St. Lawrence River, Quebec. Managers attempted to improve grazing quality for cattle by planting species with high forage quality. Fields with these treatments showed lower songbird abundance as compared to fields that were left idle, or unchanged in terms if vegetation structure, yet still grazed. The authors emphasized that proper vegetation structure was vital to songbird nesting success and that, while the cover-improvement fields did not have a major effect initially, in time they may become inadequate for nesting habitat.
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