Young adults in eastern Germany know dandelion and sparrows but few farmland species

The global biodiversity crisis comprises the ongoing loss of species simultaneous to the decrease in local knowledge of native plant and animal species. Such local knowledge is fundamental to societal engagement in conservation efforts. It is, however, unclear how familiar people are with the biodiversity in their surrounding landscape.

We used a cultural domain analysis to assess the public's local knowledge of plant and bird species in northwest Saxony, an agricultural region in eastern Germany. We interviewed 463 adults and asked them to freelist all wild plants and birds they know to occur in their surrounding agricultural landscape. We hypothesized that (i) people know mostly common generalist species, but few species characteristic for their surrounding agricultural land; and (ii) younger people know fewer species than older people.

We found that 15 plant and 21 bird taxa were part of the people's cultural domain of local farmland species. On average, people named only two plant and three bird taxa out of the 62 plant and 25 bird farmland indicator species that occur in the region. Thus, most of the species characteristic for agricultural habitats were unknown. Species knowledge generally increased with age at least up to 46-55 years. Characteristic farmland plant species such as Cornflower, Chamomile, or Yarrow, and characteristic farmland bird species such as Starling or Skylark were significantly more salient among older participants (> 45 years old), whereas generalist plants, such as Dandelion, Common daisy, or Stinging nettle, and high-order bird taxa, such as crows, pigeons and birds of prey, were more salient among younger participants (≤ 45 years old).

Our study revealed that people's local knowledge of plant and bird species comprises a few plant and a few more bird species that are characteristic for their agricultural landscape. Nevertheless, most of the common indicator species for agricultural habitats in our study region are not part of the people's cultural domain. Possibilities to enhance local knowledge necessary for conserving biodiversity include restoring the cultural relevance of wild plants, as foods or medicine, and teaching the relevance of biodiversity for ecosystem functioning at school, particularly through outdoor education in rural environments.