A study of 463 adults in rural eastern Germany found that most people could name only 2 plant and 3 bird species typical of their local farmland, despite living surrounded by agricultural landscapes. Younger adults knew even fewer species, with farmland-specialist plants like Cornflower and Chamomile nearly invisible to those under 45.
1
On average, participants named only 2 plant and 3 bird species out of 62 plant and 25 bird farmland indicator species known to occur in the region — less than 5% coverage.
2
Farmland specialist plants (Cornflower, Chamomile, Yarrow) and birds (Starling, Skylark) were significantly more salient among adults over 45, while younger adults defaulted to generalists like Dandelion and Stinging Nettle.
3
Only 15 plant and 21 bird taxa formed the shared cultural knowledge ('cultural domain') of local farmland species across all 463 participants, indicating a narrow collective baseline.
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