CONSERVATION IMPLICATIONS OF DECIDUOUS FRUIT FARMING ON BIRDS IN THE ELGIN DISTRICT, WESTERN CAPE PROVINCE, SOUTH-AFRICA

The effects of various land use practices on the diversity of natural biota in southern Africa are understood poorly, and have rarely been q uantified. We investigated the effects of deciduous fruit farming on b ird diversity in the Elgin district, Western Cape Province, South Afri ca. A total of 116 bird species was recorded in the district, of which 110 were recorded on the fruit farms and 30 in a nearby protected are a within untransformed Mountain Fynbos. Six species were recorded only in the protected area. Fourteen species were recorded during surveys undertaken within orchards. More species, especially those favouring s crub habitats, were recorded in orchards with <0.5 ha fragments of nat ural biotopes than in orchards lacking such biotopes. Population densi ties in orchards under traditional (= heavy and routine) insecticide a nd fungicide spraying programmes and those in which lower intensity sp raying is targeted at specific pests were similar. We suggest that the placement, size and connectedness of fragmented natural biotopes (eve n those infested by alien plants) within deciduous fruit farms, the ad dition of new biotopes (e.g. farm dams), and the presence of large (>2 0 ha) protected areas within the matrix of transformed habitats have c omplemented the pre-farming avian diversity in the Elgin district as a result of district-wide land use practices.