scholarly journals The Effect of Pine Forest Structure on Bird-Mobbing Behavior: From Individual Response to Community Composition

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uzi Dagan ◽  
Ido Izhaki
Keyword(s):  
Forest Structure ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Pine Forest ◽  
Understory Vegetation ◽  
Individual Response ◽  
Resident Species ◽  
Forest Bird ◽  
Coal Tit

Pine-forest bird communities are affected by the forest structure and the density and composition of its understory vegetation. In this study, we focused on the combined effects of vegetation structure and caller identity on the mobbing behavior of birds in breeding and non-breeding seasons. We examined the effect of the understory structure and the density of three types of conifer forest habitats on bird behavior by broadcasting three different types of mobbing calls: Those of two all-year resident species in the state Israel (Sardinian warbler Sylvia melanocephala Gmelin and great tit Parus major L.) and one European species (coal tit Periparus ater L.), which is absent from these habitats. The mobbing call attracted 689 birds of 17 species, which represented 31% to 95% of the forest bird species that we detected in point counts at the same study plots. Bird reactions to mobbing calls were affected by the status and season, depending on forest type. Our results show that responses were stronger in forests with developed understory in comparison to forests with no understory, especially in winter. The highest number of responders and highest species richness of responders were observed in winter. P. major calls generated more interspecific than intraspecific responses, whereas S. melanocephala calls generated equal levels of inter- and intraspecific reactions. Both species generated different response patterns across the three forest habitat types. The response level of responders is higher when the mobbing calls are issued by local species rather than the P. ater. In winter, the response of non-resident species was higher than of resident species. Based on these results, we encourage the managers to maintain well-established understory vegetation, with special attention to the shrubs layer, to promote species diversity and rich behavioral responses of birds in the conifer forests in the eastern Mediterranean region.

Changes in structure and cover of a common property pine forest in Guatemala, 1954–1996

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
CURTIS D. HOLDER
Keyword(s):  
Forest Structure ◽  
Common Property ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Municipal Government ◽  
Stand Density ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Pine Forest ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Secondary Forests ◽  
Communal Property

Concern about increasing rates of deforestation of tropical forests has resulted in investigations into the viability of local land-use practices and communal forms of governance. The majority of people in Guatemala live in regions where primary forests are absent. Several secondary forests in the highly populated highlands of Guatemala are communally managed forests, and people depend on forest products from these secondary forests for their livelihood. This study examines changes in forest structure and coverage of a native Pinus oocarpa Schiede communally managed forest in San Jose La Arada, Chiquimula in eastern Guatemala from 1954–1996. The pine forest is a municipal-communal property. The municipality has title to the land, however the forests are communal property. Neither forest committees in the villages nor municipal government regulations establish communal management of the pine forest; instead there are customary rules in the villages that guide forest extraction. People from the surrounding villages extract fuelwood, ocote (resin-rich wood harvested from the tree trunk and used for kindling) and timber from the pine forest. The P. oocarpa forest is situated in a seasonally dry region with nutrient-poor and highly eroded soils. Aerial photographs from 1954 and 1987 were compared to estimated changes in forest cover. Changes in forest structure are based on data collected from stand inventories conducted in 1987 and 1996. The pine forest was reduced in area by 14.4%, from 12.39 km2 in 1954 to 10.61 km2 in 1987. Additionally, stand density and basal area were reduced by 12% and 41%, respectively, from 1987–1996. Fuelwood and timber for domestic use were not extracted at a sustainable rate between 1954 and 1996 from the communally managed pine forest in this study. A sustainable-use management plan, in which all villages surrounding the forest participate, is recommended to provide future forest products for the villages.

Understory biomass estimation based on Structure from Motion data by Multi-layered forest drone survey

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yupan Zhang ◽  
Yuichi Onda ◽  
Hiroaki Kato ◽  
Xinchao Sun ◽  
Takashi Gomi
Keyword(s):  
Structure From Motion ◽  
Forest Structure ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
Understory Vegetation ◽  
Biomass Estimation ◽  
Canopy Openness ◽  
Cubic Model ◽  
Overlap Analysis

<p>Understory vegetation is an important part of evapotranspiration from forest floor. Forest management changes the forest structure and then affects the understory vegetation biomass (UVB). Quantitative measurement and estimation of  UVB is a step cannot be ignored in the study of forest ecology and forest evapotranspiration. However, large-scale biomass measurement and estimation is challenging. In this study, Structure from Motion (SfM) was adopted simultaneously at two different layers in a plantation forest made by Japanese cedar and Japanese cypress to reconstruct forest structure from understory to above canopy: i) understory drone survey in a 1.1h sub-catchment to generate canopy height model (CHM) based on dense point clouds data derived from a manual low-flying drone under the canopy; ii) Above-canopy drone survey in whole catchment (33.2 ha) to compute canopy openness data based on point clouds of canopy derived from an autonomous flying drone above the canopy. Combined with actual biomass data from field harvesting to develop regression models between the CHM and UVB, which was then used to map spatial distribution of  UVB in sub-catchment. The relationship between UVB and canopy openness data was then developed by overlap analysis. This approach yielded high resolution understory over catchment scale with a point cloud density of more than 20 points/cm<sup>2</sup>. Strong coefficients of determination (R-squared = 0.75) of the cubic model supported prediction of UVB from CHM, the average UVB was 0.82kg/m<sup>2</sup> and dominated by low ferns. The corresponding forest canopy openness in this area was 42.48% on average. Overlap analysis show no significant interactions between them in a cubic model with weak predictive power (R-squared < 0.46). Overall, we reconstructed the multi-layered structure of the forest and provided models of UVB. Understory survey has high accuracy for biomass measurement, but it’s inherently difficult to estimate UVB only based on canopy openness result.</p>

scholarly journals Biological proliferation of 137Cs to forest bird species in a forest ecosystem

2015 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-61
Author(s):  
Masashi MURAKAMI ◽  
Takao SUZUKI ◽  
Nobuhito OHTE ◽  
Nobumasa ISHII
Keyword(s):  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Forest Bird

scholarly journals Processing and analysis of airborne full-waveform laser scanning data for the characterization of forest structure and fuel properties

2020 ◽  
pp. 95
Author(s):  
P. Crespo-Peremarch ◽  
L. A. Ruiz
Keyword(s):  
Forest Structure ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Software Tool ◽  
Understory Vegetation ◽  
Airborne Laser Scanning ◽  
Vegetation Density ◽  
Regression Methods ◽  
Full Waveform ◽  
Airborne Laser ◽  
Pulse Density

<p class="Bodytext">This PhD thesis addresses the development of full-waveform airborne laser scanning (ALS<sub>FW</sub>) processing and analysis methods to characterize the vertical forest structure, in particular the understory vegetation. In this sense, the influence of several factors such as pulse density, voxel parameters (voxel size and assignation value), scan angle at acquisition, radiometric correction and regression methods is analyzed on the extraction of ALS<sub>FW</sub> metric values and on the estimate of forest attributes. Additionally, a new software tool to process ALS<sub>FW</sub> data is presented, which includes new metrics related to understory vegetation. On the other hand, occlusion caused by vegetation in the ALS<sub>FW</sub>, discrete airborne laser scanning (ALS<sub>D</sub>) and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) signal is characterized along the vertical structure. Finally, understory vegetation density is detected and determined by ALS<sub>FW</sub> data, as well as characterized by using the new proposed metrics.</p>

scholarly journals Relationships between spectral and bird species rarefaction curves in a brutian pine forest ecosystem

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 232-240
Author(s):  
İbrahim Özdemir ◽  
Ahmet Mert ◽  
Ulaş Yunus Özkan ◽  
Şengül Aksan ◽  
Yasin Ünal
Keyword(s):  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Pine Forest ◽  
Rarefaction Curves

Habitat and fig characteristics influence the bird assemblage and network properties of fig trees from Xishuangbanna, South-West China

2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sawat Sanitjan ◽  
Jin Chen
Keyword(s):  
Forest Type ◽  
Fruit Size ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Frugivorous Birds ◽  
Open Forest ◽  
Canopy Volume ◽  
Frugivorous Bird ◽  
Network Properties ◽  
Fig Trees ◽  
Individual Trees

Abstract:To understand how fruit tree characteristics and microhabitats shape the assemblage of birds on fig trees and the pattern of fig–bird interactions, we observed and recorded, over 96 d and 816 h, the frugivorous birds visiting 32 individual trees belonging to 14 species of Ficus that were distributed across four different sites. A total of 30 bird species were recorded as eating figs, comprising 66.7% of the total number of frugivorous bird species recorded at the four sites. Small passerine birds such as bulbuls were the dominant frugivores for fig species. The number of bird species visiting different fig trees was significantly influenced by the crop size and canopy volume. Fruit colour and fruit size did not significantly influence the number of bird species, whereas habitats appeared to influence the composition of visiting birds. The fig–frugivorous bird interaction was asymmetrically structured, and the degree of nestedness appeared to be influenced by the forest type and degree of disturbance: the degree of nestedness in non-limestone forest tended to be higher than limestone forest; forest with less disturbance tend to be more nested compared with the open forest with high disturbance.

scholarly journals Spatial and temporal patterns of bird species diversity in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso, Brazil: implications for conservation

2006 ◽  
Vol 66 (2a) ◽  
pp. 393-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. C. Figueira ◽  
R. Cintra ◽  
L. R. Viana ◽  
C. Yamashita
Keyword(s):  
Human Impacts ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Community ◽  
The Other ◽  
Resident Species ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Patterns ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Bird Survey ◽  
Bird Species Diversity ◽  
Habitat Generalists

Analysis of a three-year bird survey in the pantanal of Poconé revealed that most of the resident and seasonal birds are habitat generalists, using two or more habitats. In this study, previously sampled habitats were ranked in relation to species richness and stability (as measured by the ratio of seasonal to resident species). In all, nine habitats were grouped into three categories; results are as follows: 1) forests: more species-rich and more stable; 2) cerrado: intermediate levels; and 3) aquatic: less species-rich and less stable. The number of seasonal species remained relatively constant in forests throughout the year, while increasing in the other habitats during the dry season. The abundance of resident species seems to be related to species use of multiple habitats. Although many species were found to be habitat generalists, we discuss possible consequences of habitat loss and other human impacts on efforts to conserve this important bird community.

Seed predation by birds shortly after a wildfire in a Corsican pine forest

2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Claude Thibault ◽  
Roger Prodon
Keyword(s):  
Seed Predation ◽  
Food Source ◽  
Pine Forest ◽  
Potential Food Source ◽  
Coal Tit ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Seed Eating ◽  
Parus Ater ◽  
Burnt Areas ◽  
Potential Food

We examined the response of birds to a severe summer wildfire in a Corsican pine forest during the first months following the disturbance. Only seed-eating species visited the burnt areas in large numbers. While certain trunks or branches were still burning, numerous birds, among them the coal tit Parus ater and the Corsican nuthatch Sitta whiteheadi, were attracted by the large amount of pine seeds made available by the opening of the cones under the action of heat. The number of seed-harvesting birds declined afterwards. We discuss how seed hoarding by tits and nuthatches enabled these resident birds to survive during the first winter after the fire in a burnt environment where seeds remained the only potential food source.

scholarly journals Vascular Epiphytic Diversity in a Neotropical Transition Zone Is Driven by Environmental and Structural Heterogeneity

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 194008291988220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edilia de la Rosa-Manzano ◽  
Glenda Mendieta-Leiva ◽  
Antonio Guerra-Pérez ◽  
Karla María Aguilar-Dorantes ◽  
Leonardo Uriel Arellano-Méndez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Transition Zone ◽  
Forest Structure ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Cloud Forest ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Semideciduous Forest

Vascular epiphytes contribute significantly to tropical diversity. Research on the factors that determine vascular epiphytic diversity and composition in tropical areas is flourishing. However, these factors are entirely unknown in tropical-temperate transition zones, which represent the distribution limit of several epiphytic species. We assessed the degree to which climatic and structural variables determine the diversity of vascular epiphytic assemblages (VEAs) in a transition zone in Mexico: the El Cielo Biosphere Reserve. We found 12,103 epiphytic individuals belonging to 30 species and 15 genera along a climatic gradient from 300 to 2,000 m a.s.l. Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae were the most species-rich families. Forests along the windward slope of the Sierra Madre Oriental (semideciduous forest and tropical montane cloud forest) had higher species richness than forests along the leeward slope (pine-oak forest and submontane scrub). Species richness was largely determined by seasonality and, to a lesser degree, by forest structure, whereas abundance was mainly determined by host tree size. Variation in VEAs composition was largely explained by climatic variables, whereas forest structure was not as important. VEAs differed among forest types and slopes in terms of taxonomic and functional composition. For example, certain bromeliad indicator species reflected differences between slopes. Although within-tree epiphytic species richness (alpha diversity) was low in this transition zone relative to other habitats, species turnover among forest types (beta diversity) was high. These findings suggest that each forest type makes a unique and important contribution to epiphytic diversity in this transition zone.

scholarly journals Evidence of change in a low-elevation forest bird community of Hawai'i since 1979

2003 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle H. Reynolds ◽  
Richard J. Camp ◽  
Bonnie M. B. Nielson ◽  
James D. Jacobi
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Community ◽  
Natural Area ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
Forest Bird ◽  
Bird Survey ◽  
Elevational Range ◽  
Abundance And Distribution ◽  
Avian Disease

We evaluated the abundance and distribution of low-elevation forest birds on windward Hawai'i Island during August 1993-February 1994, and present evidence of changes in the species composition of the forest bird community since 1979. Endemic Hawaiian birds occurred in native-dominated forests as low as 120 m elevation. Non-native species were detected at all survey locations. We observed non-native Saffron Finch Sicalis flaveola, previously unrecorded in Puna. Variable circular plot surveys of Kahauale'a Natural Area Reserve indicated the disappearance of two native species ('I'iwi Vestiaria coccinea and 'O'u Psittitostra psittacea), and two non-native additions (Red-billed Leiothrix Leiothrix lutea and Kalij Pheasant Lophura leucomelana) to the study area since the Hawai'i Forest Bird Survey conducted in 1979. We present evidence that native 'Elepaio Chasiempsis sandwichensis has experienced a decrease in population density and an elevational range contraction since 1979. Surveys indicate Puna's forest bird community has had increasing aliens and declining native species since 1979. The persistence of some native bird species within the range of avian disease vectors such as Culex quinquefasciatus in forests below 1,000 m elevation presents an important enigma that requires additional study.

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