Ecosystem functions of birds as a tool to track restoration efficiency in Brazil

Abstract

Restoration practices are designed to reverse the negative effects of human activities on the environment, allowing the recovery of biodiversity and ecosystem functions. However, restoration activities require monitoring the recolonization of faunal assemblages to assess whether ecosystem functions and services performed by them have been recovered. Because of the presumed link between species traits and ecosystem functioning, a potential solution to evaluate restoration efficiency is the grouping of species based on their ecological functions. Here, we review studies on bird assemblages of active restoration sites in Brazil and apply a data-driven approach to group bird species into functional groups using species trait information. We reviewed if studies provided detailed information (e.g., data on species composition and abundance) for comparative analyses and evaluated how restoration time (i.e., how long-ago restoration started) affected the similarity in bird species composition considering three restoration age classes: recent, intermediate, and old. We also tested whether the composition of bird functional groups varies in restoration sites of different age classes. Although we found a small number of studies (n = 8) with birds in restoration areas, we compiled a dataset consisting of 232 bird species from 14 different restoration sites. We found that bird assemblages from recent restoration sites (up to 5 years) were dissimilar to bird assemblages from older restoration sites (over 20 years). Also, older restoration sites had a higher occurrence of more specialist functional groups (e.g., small frugivores birds of superior stratum). Despite the small number of studies, our results reinforce the sensitivity of birds to habitat changes and their potential in indicating restoration efficiency. We argue for the necessity of standardized protocols in the collection and reporting of data on restoration activities, which will improve comparative analysis in theoretical and applied restoration ecology.

Ecological Restoration of Habitats Based on Avian Diversity and Landscape Patterns—A Case Study of Haining Mining Pit Park in Zhejiang, China

“…Building upon the completed restoration of the overall ecological system in the mining area, efforts are made to preserve specific habitats that arise during natural succession, showcasing the unique avian biodiversity. This research area is envisioned to evolve into a habitat for birds [54].…”