Factors affecting the species richness and composition of bird species in a community managed forest of Nepal

Abstract

There exists limited information on biodiversity including avifaunal diversity and habitat condition in community forests (CF) of Nepal; thus we aimed to fulfill such gaps in Tibrekot CF of Kaski district. We used the point count method for assessing bird diversity and laid out a circular plot size of radius 5-m within 15-m distance from each point count station for recording the biophysical habitat characteristics. Bird species’ diversity, richness and evenness were calculated using popular indexes and General Linear Model (GLM) was used to test the respective effect of various biophysical factors associated with the richness of bird species. In total, 166 (summer 122, winter 125) bird species were recorded in 46 sample plots. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index was calculated as 3.99 and 4.09, Margalef’s richness index as 16.84 and 17.53 and Pielou’s evenness index as 0.83 and 0.84 for summer and winter, respectively. The influencing factors for richness of bird species were season (χ21, 90= 112.21; P= 0.016) with higher richness in the summer season and low vegetation cover (χ21, 89= 113.88; P= 0.0064) with higher richness in lower percentage cover. Thus, community managed forest should be protected as it has a significant role in increasing bird diversity, which has potential for attracting avifaunal tourism for the benefit of the local communities.

Forest Management Practice Influences Bird Diversity in the Mid-Hills of Nepal

“…We found the insectivore guild to be the most common feeding guild along the Himalayan forest, corresponding with previous studies [ 23 , 33 ]. This guild is supported by the abundant arthropods, which are also reported to be higher in the mid-hills region [ 56 ].…”

“…Our study found higher species richness in the winter season for both forests. The higher number of bird species in the winter (153 species) is due to the addition of the winter visitors (13 species) and a partial migrant (1 species) to the resident birds (139 species), which coincides with the results of Poudel et al [ 33 ], a study conducted in the same TCF. The winter migrants in our study area mainly come from northern countries such as China, Mongolia, Korea, Siberia, and Central Asia in search of warmer places, whereas summer visitors come to Nepal from southern countries such as India, Sri Lanka, and Sub-Saharan Africa in search of food and breeding sites [ 38 , 39 ].…”

“…This pattern may be due to the availability of large trees, such as Bombax ceiba , which threatened vultures’ use for roosting and nesting [ 54 , 55 ]. However, Poudel et al [ 33 ] observed two endangered vulture species in TCF, showing that TCF can also provide habitat for vulture species, which need long-term studies on how they utilize such trees (e.g., for scavenging, nesting, or resting).…”

Avian Diversity and Seasonal Abundance in Banpale Forest, Kaski District, Nepal

“…Similarly, the higher Margalef value indicates the suitability of habitat for community stability with the longer food chain and complex food web (Margalef, 1956). The Margalef value of the study area is similar to the observation of Poudel et al (2021). Similarly, the higher Pielou's Evenness Index indicates that the population size of each of the species present in the area is near complete evenness, which is similar to the observation of Poudel et al (2021).…”

“…Comparison between the diversity of birds in different seasons was calculated using the Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index (1949) for different seasons (Katuwal et al 2016;, Katuwal et al, 2018;Pragasanand Madesh 2018;Joshi et al, (2021). Inskipp et al (2016) and CITES (2017) were followed to assess the nomenclature and classification as well as conservation status of species.…”