Species traits and the response of open‐habitat species to forest edge in landscape mosaics

Abstract

Human driven changes in land‐use have increased the need to understand how landscape structure affects species distribution. We studied how forest edges affected the distribution of birds in grasslands recently encroached by forest patches. We investigated how species’ biological traits influenced their response to vegetation change near forest edges. We censured birds along 300‐m line transects run into the open habitat perpendicularly to forest edges. We recorded habitat variables and landscape context along each transect and characterized edges and forest patches. We recorded 33 bird species in 153 transects for a total of 654 individuals. We analyzed species response to edges with generalized linear mixed models. Habitat preference was prevalent to explain species response to forest edges. The abundance of open‐habitat birds such as skylark Alauda arvensis decreased significantly in the vicinity of edges. This negative response extended within 150 m from the edge. The effect was disproportionately higher in open‐habitat species with high conservation concern. The abundance of species feeding or/and breeding in both forest and open habitat, such as woodlarks Lullula arborea, sharply increased near edges (positive edge response). Abundance of shrub and non‐shrub dependent species increased with distance to edge. The two species groups did no differ in abundance/distance to edge relationship. Intensity of species response to forest edges varied among transects in relation to transect vegetation characteristics. Edge length or aspect, diet and nest height had no direct effect. We discuss the possible role of variation in resources and nest predation risk to explain observed patterns.

Habitat management effects on Prealpine grassland bird communities

“…Burton 2009;Copland et al 2012), the few that were conducted in grazed and/or mown grasslands reported results similar to ours (e.g. Kumstátová et al 2004;Birrer et al 2007;Erdős et al 2011;Schaub et al 2011;Fonderflick et al 2013). For example, Schaub et al (2011) showed that, in open habitats of Swiss Alps, hedge and woodland edge extent negatively affected skylark breeding density, while woodland edge positively affected tree pipit density.…”

“…In fact, it is well known that nest predation pressure increases along habitat edges, and this is particularly true for ground-nesting species, such as most of the open- habitat specialists considered here, and in the cases of abrupt transitions between grassland and forest (e.g. Lahti 2001;Fonderflick et al 2013). This result was corroborated by the analysis of skylark breeding density in at least one of the two study sites.…”

Low effect on open-farmland birds of young afforestations in heterogeneous Mediterranean croplands

“…For instance, Fonderflick et al (2013) found that the abundance of openhabitat birds decreased significantly in the vicinity of edges, this negative response extended within 150 m from the edge, and the effect was disproportionately higher in open-habitat species with high conservation concern. Accordingly, we found this detrimental effect for species richness in winter (Table 2A).…”

“…tree cover of 1.7%, Table 1) may produce detrimental effects only at very short distances from them (e.g. <150 m, Fonderflick et al, 2013;Sánchez-Oliver et al, 2014a). Further, these plantations may mirror remnants of natural or semi-natural woody vegetation such as woodland patches and hedgerows that may be even beneficial for some farmland bird species (e.g.…”

The ‘mosaic habitat’ concept in human evolution: past and present

“…The term is still widely used in ecology today (e.g. Soininen et al, 2013;Fonderflick et al, 2013;Campioni et al, 2013;Marimon et al, 2014) and the current importance given to ideas of metapopulations and spatial dynamics in ecology makes patchy habitats of particular interest (Nee, 2007). In addition the rise in landscape ecology as a discipline over the past 25 years has also given a particular prominence to mosaics, as landscapes are often viewed as composed of a variety of patches of different vegetation types (Kent, 2011 Early 20th century descriptive studies of African vegetation, in particular in eastern Africa, make frequent mention of the mosaic-like nature of the vegetation (Michelmore, 1934(Michelmore, , 1939Vesey-Fitzgerald, 1963); later ecological studies focused on the mechanisms that create and stabilise mosaics, such as grazing by herbivores and fire (Belsky, 1986;Bond and Keeley, 2005;Sinclair, 2012).…”