According to the researcher, historical and ongoing changes in the content and use of the landscape are the primary explanation for the decline. When agricultural landscapes become more uniform—either through intensification, larger and more specialized production systems, or due to agricultural land abandonment causing overgroth—important habitats for many bird species disappear.
To slow down and eventually reverse the negative trend, the researchers recommend, among other measures:
- Preserving and facilitating habitats to ensure access to food and shelter
- Adapting farming practices to birds' life cycles
- Protecting field margins, small woodlots, and wetlands
- Managing grazing areas and hay meadows
- Reducing the use of pesticides
- Preventing overgrowth and afforestation with coniferous forest