Response of bat species to sylvo-pastoral abandonment

▶ Management of chestnut orchards favours bat species richness and activity. ▶ Bat species with low to medium flight manoeuvrability are less common in abandoned, overgrown orchards. ▶ Bats primarily visit most open orchards, free of undergrowth, with less than 150 stems per ha left standing. ▶ Management did not affect food abundance. ▶ Continued management of chestnut orchards for open structures helps to conserve endangered bat species in the southern Swiss Alps.