Language: Bilingual in English and Spanish
This publication includes the results of an international project aimed to assess the value of rice fields as non-breeding habitat for migratory shorebirds in southern South America.
Numerous studies document the role of rice fields as a foraging habitat for waterbirds, and in particular for migratory shorebirds in the Northern Hemisphere. Rice fields function as artificial wetlands, providing feeding habitat for numerous species, at least during part of the lifecycle of the crop, but at the same time they may result as a serious threat due to the use of agrochemicals associated with rice production. The aim of the present project was to assess the use of rice fields by migratory shorebirds in southern South America, contributing valuable unpublished information for their conservation.