Background: Restoration projects have been implemented worldwide to mitigate the adverse effects of the loss and degradation of wetland habitats. Much research has been carried out on the impacts on birds of wetland restoration and management projects in China. Studies have mainly investigated central or coastal wetlands, while inland wetlands in remote areas have been much less studied. We focused on examining the response of wild birds to wetland restoration in Dianchi Lake, southwest China. Methods: The line transect method was performed at 26 sampling plots. Three of these were in the city, and to acquire all wild bird data 23 plots were located every 2-8 km along the shore of Dianchi Lake, between December 2011 and November 2013. We collected all related bird records by searching the available literature, articles, newspapers and records of birdwatchers to compare species variation before and after implementation of wetland restoration. To measure the relationships between waterbird assemblages and habitat structures, we used canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) to pair the main matrix of bird assemblages with a second matrix of habitat variables. Results: We recorded 182 bird species belonging to 51 families and 17 orders. Of the species, 42 were new records for Kunming City and 20 were new records for Yunnan Province. Ten waterbird species were found to have disappeared from the shore of Dianchi Lake. CCA results indicated that waterbirds could be divided into four categories based on their habitat preference: synanthropic (wintering gulls), special habitat (shorebirds), semi-natural (wintering coots and ducks) and disturbance-tolerant (resident) species. Conclusions: Our study is the first to consider the entire wild bird community throughout the year and discuss the species variation before and after wetland restoration projects launched for Dianchi Lake. Distinct habitat requirements of different waterbird groups were detected in our study, suggesting different types of restoration and management should be implemented.
Several studies have revealed that urban rivers with relatively complete habitat structures can support a high level of biodiversity in urban areas. However, few studies have analyzed the impact of the plan, design, and management of multi-scale urban riverside green space on bird communities by assessing several aspects of diversity (e.g., taxonomic and functional). In this study, we explored bird community variation (taxonomic and functional) among three rivers (28 sampling sites) with different levels of human disturbance along the urban development gradient in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China, during an annual cycle. This study related bird species richness and functional diversity to environmental variables at three spatial scales: landscape metrics at two different landscape scales (500 and 100 m radius) and vegetation structure at patch scales (20 m radius). Using partial least squares regression (PLSR) and multiple linear regression, we found that bird species richness and functional diversity were strongly related to various landscape- and patch-level variables. Multiple linear regression models revealed that, compared with the richness influenced by explanatory variables on three spatial scales (500, 100, and 20 m), the functional diversity was significantly influenced by explanatory variables on the 100 and 20 m scales. Tree cover at the 20 m scale had significantly positive impacts on bird species richness and functional diversity. Forest land in the 100 m scale had a significantly positive effect on bird species richness and functional diversity, while construction land in the two landscape scales (the 500- and 100 m scales) had a significantly negative effect on species richness. Accordingly, we suggest that urban riverside green space should be planned and managed at multiple scales.
The core issue of community ecology and biodiversity is the coexistence of species in a real community, but few studies have considered species coexistence in artificial wetland forests. The present study focused on interspecific correlations of exotic and native species in 8-year-old artificial wetland forests. Four large plots (each 1500m2) were established to record the species and abundance of all plants; 160 quadrats (1×1m) were set to record the number, height and coverage of each plant species. In the large plots, 78 species (6 trees, 11 shrubs and 61 herbs) were recorded. The interspecific relationships of major species (frequency >3%) from quadrats were analysed using the Chi-Square test and Spearman rank correlation coefficient index. Of 253 species pairs, 49 and 45 were significant (P<0.05), with positive and negative correlations respectively, showing intense interspecific competition. Ward’s method of hierarchical clustering was used to divide the major species from quadrats into three and five ecological species groups at a rescaled distance cluster combine of 20 and 10 respectively. Dominant invasive species (Solidago canadensis, Ageratina adenophora and Bidens pilosa) formed monodominant patches; however, species of different sizes and ecological demands, whether exotic or native, could coexist. These findings imply that exotic species can coexist with native species and become a common species composition when they have existed for a sufficient period time in artificial wetland forests.
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