130925-studie-wildlife-comeback-in-europe

Figure 2.
Current distribution
of Eastern imperial
eagle and historical
distribution in
the 1950s [38] , and
1980s [39] .
Table 3.
Major threats that
drove imperial eagle
decline and may
still constrain the
population [6, 29] .
Threat Description Impact
Agro-industry
wood and pulp
plantations
Degradation of breeding habitats through
deforestation, clearance and reafforestation with
alien species, and cutting down of large old trees.
Medium/High
Agricultural
intensification
Agricultural
abandonment
Transportation &
service corridors
Residential &
commercial
development
Renewable
energy
Hunting &
collection of
terrestrial animals
Disturbance by logging activities during breeding
season.
Accessibility and disturbance along logging tracks.
Degradation of foraging habitats through
agricultural intensification (conversion of
pastures to cropland).
Depletion of prey base through habitat
degradation caused by overgrazing.
Near extinction of Susliks in Hungary due to
habitat loss.
Very sensitive to disturbance by farming
operations in agricultural areas.
Abandonment of grasslands results in foraging
habitat degradation.
Collision with and electrocution by power lines
is one of the most important mortality factor in
Central Europe and the Balkans.
Habitat loss and fragmentation.
Potential threat of collision with wind turbines,
with increasing establishment of wind farms.
Secondary or unintentional ingestion of poisons
intended for control of foxes, wolves and other
predators, especially in Hungary (main mortality
factor), Greece, Bulgaria and FYRO Macedonia.
Persecution (shooting and intentional poisoning)
in Hungary and Greece.
Nest robbing and illegal trade, especially from
former USSR.
Lack of enforcement of laws and CITES
regulations in Bulgaria and the former USSR since
disintegration of Soviet Union.
Unintentional effects of persecution of
rodents for crop protection and for their fur.
Near extinction of Susliks in Bulgaria due to
overhunting.
Unintentional trapping as a result of mammal
trapping outside European range.
High
Medium
High
High
Critical
High
Potential
Critical
Medium
Medium
High
Low
areas identified in the Czech Republic (since
1998) [27] , Austria (since 1999) [26] and Siberia (since
2009) [9, 10] . The observed expansions may point to
a recovery of Eastern imperial eagles in central
Europe, but the apparent increase in range in Russia
and Ukraine may be attributable to increasing
survey effort [7] .
Major threats
The severe decline in the 20 th century was the
result of anthropogenic pressures, including persecution
and unintentional poisoning, particularly
in central and southeast Europe [7] . Illegal hunting
and poisoning (both intentional persecution and
unintentional effects) is still the main problem in
the key countries in the Carpathian Basin [16, 25, 29] . The
most important threats today are loss of nesting
sites and habitat degradation caused by forestry
practices and the removal of trees from farmland [29] .
Further major threats include electrocution by
power lines and disturbance of nesting birds
by farming operations [29] . Farmland is the most
important foraging habitat for Eastern imperial
eagle and conversion of pastures to intensive
agriculture or, conversely, their abandonment, are
critical threats to the species [29] .
Drivers of recovery
Targeted conservation actions, in Hungary [12, 16] and
Bulgaria [23] especially, have enabled the recovery of
populations, leading to the Hungarian population
250