Landscape Context Mediates Avian Habitat Choice in Tropical Forest Restoration

Abstract

Birds both promote and prosper from forest restoration. The ecosystem functions birds perform can increase the pace of forest regeneration and, correspondingly, increase the available habitat for birds and other forest-dependent species. The aim of this study was to learn how tropical forest restoration treatments interact with landscape tree cover to affect the structure and composition of a diverse bird assemblage. We sampled bird communities over two years in 13 restoration sites and two old-growth forests in southern Costa Rica. Restoration sites were established on degraded farmlands in a variety of landscape contexts, and each included a 0.25-ha plantation, island treatment (trees planted in patches), and unplanted control. We analyzed four attributes of bird communities including frugivore abundance, nectarivore abundance, migrant insectivore richness, and compositional similarity of bird communities in restoration plots to bird communities in old-growth forests. All four bird community variables were greater in plantations and/or islands than in control treatments. Frugivore and nectarivore abundance decreased with increasing tree cover in the landscape surrounding restoration plots, whereas compositional similarity to old-growth forests was greatest in plantations embedded in landscapes with high tree cover. Migrant insectivore richness was unaffected by landscape tree cover. Our results agree with previous studies showing that increasing levels of investment in active restoration are positively related to bird richness and abundance, but differences in the effects of landscape tree cover on foraging guilds and community composition suggest that trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and bird-mediated ecosystem functioning may be important for prioritizing restoration sites.

Nest sites selection by sympatric cavity-nesting birds in miombo woodlands

“…According to Trzcinski, Fahrig and Merriam (1999) and Roberts (2007), environmental factors such as deforestation and habitat fragmentation might trigger the presence or absence of certain cavity-nesting birds in a particular area. Based on studies conducted elsewhere, it would also appear that undisturbed forests contain more cavity-nesting birds than disturbed forests, due in part to increased availability of nesting sites (dos Anjos 2006; Reid et al 2014). Some bird species in the study areas might have been affected by direct persecution by humans and other predators.…”

“…However, the quantity and diversity of bird species any forest can support depend on the capacity of the vegetation to absorb disturbance (Carpenter & Brock 2008;Folke et al 2010). Cavity-nesting bird populations are largely resident and non-migratory in nature (Reid et al 2014;Wilson & Hockey 2013). On the other hand, secondary cavity-nesting birds such as southern ground hornbills, Arnot's Chats, and White-faced Scops Owls are likely to be more negatively impacted by the absence of the host vegetation than primary cavity-nesting birds that create their own tree cavities, without having to adopt or re-use the existing cavities.…”

Neotropical rainforest restoration: comparing passive, plantation and nucleation approaches

“…However, the use of active restoration techniques with high levels of intervention can present side effects, leading the community to an excessively different pathway and lower degree of natural recovery (''overrestoration'') previously tested in Honduras (Zahawi and Augspurger 2006) and recently reviewed and named ''applied nucleation'' by Corbin and Holl (2012). Although plantations foster greater bird abundance and compositional similarity to old-growth forest than applied nucleation designs (Reid et al 2014;Vogel et al 2015), Vogel et al (2015) showed that Brazilian nucleation techniques facilitated exclusive species with higher richness and abundance (in disagree with Reid et al 2014). Overall, it is argued that applied nucleation facilitates pollinator visitation and tree recruitment to a similar degree as plantations, but with lower costs Lindell and Thurston 2013;Zahawi et al 2013).…”

Developing a Cell-Based Spatial Optimization Model for Land-Use Patterns Planning

“…The results reveal that isolated land-use types (i.e., plantations) within other land-use types could also provide suitable habitats for different species. For instance, isolated habitats become more valuable as they function as stepping stones, which make up larger proportions of pristine forests [24]. In other situations, habitat structures with isolated trees or artificial perches may increase bird visitation as well as consequent dispersion of seeds in degraded habitats [24,25].…”

“…For instance, isolated habitats become more valuable as they function as stepping stones, which make up larger proportions of pristine forests [24]. In other situations, habitat structures with isolated trees or artificial perches may increase bird visitation as well as consequent dispersion of seeds in degraded habitats [24,25]. Accordingly, habitat islands can in many instances have high conservational value in landscape reconstruction projects, even though they appear fragmented and isolated [12].…”