Content area
Full Text
HABITATS FOR BIRDS IN EUROPE: A CONSERVATION STRATEGY FOR THE WIDER ENVIRONMENT. Compiled by Graham M. Tucker and Michael I. Evans. BirdLife Conservation Series No. 6, BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K. 1997: 464 pp., 6 appendices. $45.00 (paper) (in North America, contact via email: BTUCKER@ SIPRESS.SI.EDU).-This ambitious compilation from 8 habitat working groups marks the third and final leg of a decadal marathon sponsored by BirdLife to promote the conservation of Europe's birds (the first two culminated in Grimmet and Jones' 1989 Important Bird Areas in Europe and number 3 in the BirdLife series, Tucker and Heath's 1994 Birds in Europe: their conservation status). Thirteen workshops were held across Europe bringing experts together to prepare conservation strategies for each of the following major habitat types: marine habitats; coastal habitats; inland wetlands; tundra, mires (bogs), and moorlands; lowland Atlantic heathland; boreal and temperate forests; Mediterranean forest, shrubland, and rocky habitats; and agricultural and grassland habitats. For each habitat type, information is provided on current distribution (with maps) and trends, its history, physical and biological processes, and its dominant flora and fauna. In addition, the chief values of habitat to humans is given, and the major threats to the habitat quality and quantity of priority bird species are identified in both text and tables. The last section of each habitat chapter then lists conservation opportunities such as legislation, financial incentives, and policy initiatives, then broad conservation recommendations are given.
The rationale for priority bird rankings is explained early in the book, providing...