Early seral hardwood vegetation increases adult and fledgling bird abundance in Douglas-fir plantations of the Oregon Coast Range, USA

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 918-933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tana M. Ellis ◽  
Andrew J. Kroll ◽  
Matthew G. Betts
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Relative Magnitude ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Private Lands ◽  
Bird Abundance ◽  
Catharus Ustulatus

Recent evidence suggests that population declines of bird species associated with early-successional forest conditions may be associated with reduced quality of breeding habitat. Increasing intensity of forest management on private lands and decreased harvest rates on federal lands in the Pacific Northwest, USA, have resulted in a loss of diverse young forest stands, typically called early seral forest. Previous studies suggest that the amount of early seral broadleaf cover within conifer forests is linked to the composition of foliage-gleaning bird communities. However, information regarding productivity and juvenile use of post-breeding habitat in highly modified plantation habitat is lacking. We examined the relationship between vegetation structure resulting from intensive forest management practices and the abundance of five species of leaf-gleaning, neotropical migrants: orange-crowned warbler ( Oreothlypis celata (Say, 1823)), Wilson’s warbler ( Wilsonia pusilla (A. Wilson, 1811)), MacGillivray’s warbler ( Oporornis tolmiei (J.K. Townsend, 1839)), Swainson’s thrush ( Catharus ustulatus (Nuttall, 1840)), and black-headed grosbeak ( Pheucticus melanocephalus (Swainson, 1827)). All species, except MacGillivray’s warbler, showed positive associations with the amount of early seral hardwood cover as fledglings, breeding adults, or both. However, the relative magnitude of these associations varied, suggesting that other factors may also have influenced avian responses. Abundances of breeding pairs and young are likely to show positive responses to management practices that increase early seral hardwood cover in regenerating stands. If adopted at landscape and regional scales, such practices may positively influence population trends of several declining bird species.

scholarly journals Forest degradation, not loss, drives widespread avian population declines

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Betts ◽  
Zhiqiang Yang ◽  
Adam Hadley ◽  
Josee Rousseau ◽  
Joseph Northrup ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Forest Degradation ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Bird Abundance

Abstract In many regions of the world, forest management has reduced old forest and simplified forest structure and composition via reliance on monoculture tree plantations. We hypothesized that such forest degradation has resulted in long-term habitat loss for forest-associated bird species of eastern Canada (130,017 km2) which, in turn, has affected bird population declines. Back-cast species distribution models revealed that despite little change in overall forest cover, breeding habitat loss occurred for 66% of the 54 most common species from 1985-2020. This habitat loss was strongly associated with population declines for 72% of species, as quantified in an independent, long-term dataset. Since 1985, net forest bird abundance has declined in this region by an estimated 33-104 million birds due to habitat loss alone. The effects of forest degradation may therefore be a primary cause of biodiversity decline in managed forest landscapes.  

scholarly journals Habitat Selection by the European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus in North-Eastern Poland: Implications for Forest Management

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 291
Author(s):  
Michał Polakowski ◽  
Monika Broniszewska ◽  
Lucyna Kirczuk ◽  
Zbigniew Kasprzykowski
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Forest Edge ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Caprimulgus Europaeus ◽  
Management Recommendations

Research Highlights: Intensive forest management practices generally have a negative effect on biodiversity. However, the creation of new, open habitats as a consequence of timber harvesting within large areas of woodland may be favorable to some bird species. Background and Objectives: Habitat selection of the European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus in a coniferous woodland area in northeastern Poland was studied in order to specify management recommendations. Materials and Methods: To define the influence of various environmental parameters on territory occupation, 11 micro- and 3 macrohabitat factors were analyzed. Results: Denser vegetation in the ground layer deterred birds from nesting in clearings with such characteristics. Moreover, Nightjars preferentially inhabited sites adjacent to young stands of trees. Birds preferred plots with a higher number of clearings in the neighborhood, as this enabled them to enlarge their foraging area. Other microhabitat factors (e.g., the type, age and area of clearings), as well as macroscale factors like distances to the forest edge, nearest roads and human settlements, were of no importance. Conclusions: Knowledge of the Nightjar preferences may be useful in working out a compromise between an appropriate level of clear-felling and conservation of other bird species requiring preservation of old tree stands.

scholarly journals Efecto de la estacionalidad y lluvias en la avifauna del Chaco Serrano Austral, Argentina

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 953
Author(s):  
Gustavo Alfredo Fava ◽  
Juan Carlos Acosta ◽  
Graciela Mirta Blanco
Keyword(s):  
Bird Species ◽  
Reproductive Activity ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Bird Abundance ◽  
Group Management ◽  
Natural Park ◽  
Chaco Serrano ◽  
Site Survey ◽  
Migrant Bird ◽  
Resident Bird

In subtropical regions like the Chaco Serrano (33° S), rainfall has a marked seasonality, and water flood, caused by heavy rains, may have important consequences for dependent ecosystems. Conversely, the high pressure on available resources during dry periods can also affect the fauna diversity and distribution. Even though birds have shown to be excellent ecological indicators of these shifts in the environment, currently little is known about the avifauna of the Argentine Chaco Serrano phytogeographic district. Our aim was to study the resident bird population status in the Southern Chaco Serrano, its fluctuations in richness and abundance, and its relationship to seasonal variations, in monthly and annual hydroperiods. In order to assess the resident bird status over a two year period (2011 Mar.-2013 Feb.) we carried out 18 sampling surveys during pre-breeding (spring), breeding (summer) and non breeding periods (autumn-winter), in the Northeastern part of the Valle Fértil Natural Park, San Juan province, Argentina. During each site survey, we recorded bird assemblages found in six transects, and obtained bird abundance and species diversity. A mixed general linear model was employed to evaluate relationships between the studied variables. We found a total of 98 species of birds belonging to 33 families (44 resident species, 23 spring visitors, six summer visitors, two winter visitors and 23 with scarce registers). We also registered 68 of these species in both hydroperiods, 28 only during rainy periods and only two during the dry period. Both richness and abundance showed the highest values during the pre-breeding and rainy seasons, while different tendencies were detected during the isolated monthly rainfalls. These changes in bird densities were associated with the arrival of migratory species, mainly spring visitors, and probably in relationship with their reproductive activity, and to seasonal fluctuations in food resources. The Southern Chaco Serrano is a subtropical semiarid place that seems to be an important breeding habitat for many migrant bird species, which in turn promoted seasonal changes in species density and diversity, mainly during rainy years. This work contributed to our understanding on the causes of richness and abundance variations on birds, and will contribute to this important group management and conservation in this area.

scholarly journals Vegetation management on private forestland can increase avian species richness and abundance

The Condor ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse M Wood ◽  
Amy K Tegeler ◽  
Beth E Ross
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Avian Species ◽  
Active Management ◽  
Private Lands ◽  
Species Richness And Abundance

Abstract Conservation efforts on private lands are important for biodiversity conservation. On private lands in South Carolina, in the southeastern United States, forestry management practices (prescribed burning, thinning, herbicide application) are used to improve upland pine habitat for wildlife and timber harvest and are incentivized through U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Bill cost-share programs. Because many forest-dependent avian species have habitat requirements created primarily through forest management, data are needed on the effectiveness of these management activities. We studied privately owned loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) stands in the South Carolina Piedmont region. Our objective was to understand how management practices influence avian species richness and abundance at local (forest stand) and landscape levels in relatively small stands (average ~28 ha). We surveyed 49 forest stands during 2 bird breeding seasons with traditional point counts and vegetation surveys. We evaluated the effects of management on pine stand characteristics, avian species richness, and abundance of state-designated bird species of concern. Repeated burning and thinning shifted stand conditions to open pine woodlands with reduced basal area and herbaceous understories. Stands with lower basal area supported greater avian species richness. Some species increased in abundance in response to active management (e.g., Brown-headed Nuthatch [Sitta pusilla] and Indigo Bunting [Passerina cyanea]), but relationships varied. Some species responded positively to increases in forest quantity at a landscape scale (1–5 km; e.g., Northern Bobwhite [Colinus virginianus]). We found species-rich avian communities and species of conservation concern on working timber lands, indicating that incentivized forest management on private lands can provide valuable habitat for wildlife.

Habitat openness and edge avoidance predict Saltmarsh Sparrow abundance better than habitat area

The Condor ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hallie Marshall ◽  
Erik J Blomberg ◽  
Valerie Watson ◽  
Meaghan Conway ◽  
Jonathan B Cohen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Decline ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Tidal Marshes ◽  
Bird Abundance ◽  
Marsh Edge ◽  
Marsh Bird ◽  
Saltmarsh Sparrow ◽  
Habitat Features ◽  
Better Than

Abstract The Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammospiza caudacuta) is a tidal marsh bird facing rapid population decline throughout its range, largely caused by degradation and loss of breeding habitat. Thus, there is a need to preserve tidal marshes in the northeastern United States, but to do so requires an understanding of the habitat features that support robust populations. Previous studies have shown Saltmarsh Sparrow abundance increases with marsh size, but in similar bird species, area sensitivity is more directly linked to edge avoidance. Whether additional landscape features affect the abundance of Saltmarsh Sparrows is unknown. We explored how the height of objects on the horizon, an index of habitat openness, affected the abundance of Saltmarsh Sparrows. Our primary goal was to determine whether the angle to the highest point on the horizon (“angle to maximum horizon”) predicted abundance better than marsh area or distance to the marsh edge. We used N-mixture models to evaluate the combination of spatial factors that best predicted Saltmarsh Sparrow abundance while also accounting for survey-level variables that could influence detection probability. We found that the interaction between distance to edge and angle to maximum horizon best predicted abundance. Taller objects on the horizon were negatively correlated with bird abundance, and this effect was strongest within 50 m of the marsh edge. When we considered the predictive powers of patch area, distance to edge, and angle to maximum horizon individually, angle to maximum horizon was the best single predictor. We found the highest abundance of Saltmarsh Sparrows at point locations where the angle to maximum horizon was 0.0°, and at angles greater than 12° the predicted abundance fell below 1 bird per survey point. We propose that managers should prioritize marsh openness and experimentally test the effect of marsh edge manipulations when making conservation decisions for this rapidly declining species.

scholarly journals Early Successional Forest Management on Private Lands as a Coupled Human and Natural System

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth H. Lutter ◽  
Ashley A. Dayer ◽  
Amanda D. Rodewald ◽  
Darin J. McNeil ◽  
Jeffery L. Larkin
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Forest Health ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Private Landowners ◽  
Private Lands ◽  
Bird Species Richness ◽  
American Woodcock ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Successional Forests

Facilitating voluntary conservation on private lands is a crucial element of policies that seek to mitigate forest habitat loss and fragmentation around the world. Previous research emphasizes the role of social factors (e.g., landowner characteristics, economics) in forest management, but environmental outcomes of past management can also affect landowner decisions. Our objective was to evaluate how positive outcomes for wildlife and habitat might reinforce or amplify landowner efforts to manage forest habitats. We applied the lens of coupled human and natural systems to investigate private lands management for early successional forests, which are declining along with associated wildlife in rural areas of the eastern U.S. Efforts to restore early successional forest in this region involve active forest management to create patches of successional forest in native, mature mixed hardwood stands. By integrating field-based monitoring of wildlife with surveys of landowner perceptions, we examined how landowners observed, interpreted, and responded to property-scale ecological outcomes of forest management. We recorded presence of Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) and American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) and estimated bird species richness in spring 2015 and/or 2016 on private properties located in the Appalachians (Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania) and Upper Great Lakes (Minnesota, Wisconsin). These properties were enrolled in early successional forest management programs administered through the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Bird surveys were paired with landowner responses to a telephone survey conducted from January to May 2017 (n = 102). Most (71.6–81.6%) landowners’ perceptions of avian presence on their properties matched monitoring results. These perceptions were informed by personal observations and by outreach from agency partners and field technicians. Landowners who already completed their conservation program contracts (n = 85) continued managing early successional forests. Continued management for early successional habitat was positively associated with perceived benefits to birds, forest health, and scenery. Our findings give insight into how private landowners respond to environmental effects of forest management. We conclude that positive environmental outcomes of these conservation programs are related to continued early successional forest conservation by private landowners.

scholarly journals The Effect of Forest Management on the Avifauna of a Brazilian Dry Forest

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Ramos Ribeiro ◽  
Flor Maria Guedes Las-Casas ◽  
Hevana Santana de Lima ◽  
Weber Andrade de Girão e Silva ◽  
Luciano Nicolás Naka
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Bird Abundance ◽  
Entire Area ◽  
Semi Arid

The conversion of tropical habitats has dramatic implications on biodiversity and represents one of the greatest conservation challenges of our time. Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests (SDTF), which are disjointly distributed throughout the Neotropics, are especially susceptible to human activities. The Caatinga Dry Forest, located in the semi-arid interior of northeastern Brazil, represents not only the largest and most biologically diverse nucleus of SDTF, but also the world’s most densely populated semi-arid region, with ever-growing pressure on its natural resources. To prevent illegal logging, conservation agencies looked at forest management, where an area is divided in smaller stands which are gradually logged and allowed to regrow for a period of time, when a new cutting cycle should reinitiate. The impacts of these management schemes on biodiversity, however, remain largely untested. We conducted standardized avian surveys to evaluate the effects of forest management on the avian community at a 1,670 ha privately owned property located on the Chapada do Araripe, northeastern Brazil. This area was divided in 22 forest stands, half of which had already been logged at the time of our sampling, creating a gradient of logged and natural forests and an 11-yr chrono-sequence of forest regeneration. Our results show that logged areas present fewer individuals, fewer species, and different avian assemblages than unlogged forests. Such differences are mostly driven by forest-dependent species, which were overwhelmingly affected by forest management. Our results show that although logged forests tend to recover its height after a decade, they do not recover the originally forest cover, measured by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index. Likewise, decade-long recovering stands continue to show lower species richness, lower bird abundance, and different avian composition than unlogged forests. We identified a set of bird species that are more affected by forest management (ecological losers) and a group of birds that apparently benefit from the referred changes in land use (ecological winners). We conclude that completely managing an entire area may cause the extirpation of several forest-dependent species. We therefore suggest keeping logged and unlogged plots intermingled, to avoid local extinctions and the complete modification of the original avifauna.

scholarly journals When more is less: Urban remnants support high bird abundance but diversity varies

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A Fitzimons ◽  
Mark J Antos ◽  
Grant C Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Public Parks ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Bird Abundance ◽  
Remnant Vegetation ◽  
Baseline Information

Urban remnant vegetation, especially where it occurs in public parks, allows for relatively easy access for ongoing biodiversity monitoring. However, relatively little baseline information on bird species distribution and abundance across a range of identifiable urban remnants appears in the published literature. We surveyed the relative abundance and distribution of birds across urban and suburban remnant vegetation in Melbourne, Australia. One hundred and six species were recorded, of which 98 were indigenous. Red wattlebirds had the highest mean relative abundance with 2.94 birds/ ha, followed by rainbow lorikeets (2.51), noisy miners (1.93), brown thornbills (1.75) and spotted doves (0.96). There was no obvious trend between overall relative abundance and the size of the remnant, in contrast to species richness which was positively correlated with remnant size. The data revealed that some species were either totally restricted to, or more abundant in, larger remnants and generally absent from smaller remnants. Some of the more common birds (crimson rosella, superb fairy-wren, spotted pardalote and black-faced cuckoo-shrike) recorded during this study were detected at similar densities to those found in comparable vegetation to the east of Melbourne within a largely forested landscape. Other species occurred at much lower densities (e.g., white-browed scrubwren, brown thornbill, eastern yellow robin and grey fantail) or had habitat requirements or ecological characteristics that could place them at risk of further decline or local extinction in the urban area. We identify a suite of bird species of potential conservation concern within Melbourne’s urban landscape. The establishment of repeatable, fixed-point, and long-term monitoring sites will allow for repeat surveying over time and provide an early warning of population declines, or conversely an indication of population increase for other species.

Forest Management In Mongolia – A Review Of Challenges And Lessons Learned With Special Reference To Degradation And Deforestation

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Gradel ◽  
Gerelbaatar Sukhbaatar ◽  
Daniel Karthe ◽  
Hoduck Kang
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Forest Health ◽  
Hydrological Regime ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Driven System ◽  
The Status

The natural conditions, climate change and socio-economic challenges related to the transformation from a socialistic society towards a market-driven system make the implementation of sustainable land management practices in Mongolia especially complicated. Forests play an important role in land management. In addition to providing resources and ecosystem functions, Mongolian forests protect against land degradation.We conducted a literature review of the status of forest management in Mongolia and lessons learned, with special consideration to halting deforestation and degradation. We grouped our review into seven challenges relevant to developing regionally adapted forest management systems that both safeguard forest health and consider socio-economic needs. In our review, we found that current forest management in Mongolia is not always sustainable, and that some practices lack scientific grounding. An overwhelming number of sources noticed a decrease in forest area and quality during the last decades, although afforestation initiatives are reported to have increased. We found that they have had, with few exceptions, only limited success. During our review, however, we found a number of case studies that presented or proposed promising approaches to (re-)establishing and managing forests. These studies are further supported by a body of literature that examines how forest administration, and local participation can be modified to better support sustainable forestry. Based on our review, we conclude that it is necessary to integrate capacity development and forest research into holistic initiatives. A special focus should be given to the linkages between vegetation cover and the hydrological regime.

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