The white-backed woodpecker: umbrella species for forest conservation planning?

Abstract

In northern Europe, a long history of land use has led to profound changes within forest ecosystems. The white-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos) is one of several specialised forest species whose populations have declined. Conservation management directed at this species' habitat has made it a de facto umbrella species for conservation of the biodiversity associated with forests rich in deciduous trees and dead wood. We assessed empirically the value of the white-backed woodpecker as an indicator and umbrella species in central Sweden. Occurrence of the woodpecker in breeding bird atlas squares (5 £ 5 km 2 ) indicated high species richness of forest birds, particularly species of special conservation concern, which included on average 13% more species in squares with than without the woodpecker. The number of red-listed cryptogam species expected to beneWt from conservation actions directed at white-backed woodpecker habitats was higher in squares where the woodpecker bred compared to where is was absent. However, no such pattern was found for red-listed beetles, a group with very few records in the studied squares. White-backed woodpecker occurrence was positively associated with the current area of deciduous and mixed forest of high conservation value. Considering its indicator value, its specialised habitat requirements and its potential as a communication tool, using the white-backed woodpecker as an umbrella species may provide a coarse Wlter for the conservation of several other deciduous forest species. However, focusing solely on white-1 C backed woodpecker habitat may not provide for the conservation of all such species, which stresses the need for a suite of complementary planning approaches.

A review of applications of the six-step method of systematic conservation planning

“…For example, some authors have found surrogates to be ineffective in small areas (Caro et al 2004), but effective in larger areas if minimum representation of the surrogate was met (Garson et al 2002). Effectiveness as a surrogate may also vary across background taxa (Roberge et al 2008). In a comprehensive review of 575 surrogacy tests from 19 studies, Rodrigues and Brooks (2007) evaluated the effectiveness of protected areas designed using surrogate species data for representing target taxa and found a positive but weak surrogacy effect.…”

Magellanic Woodpeckers in three national parks of central-southern Chile: habitat effects and population variation over the last two decades

“…Continuing land use changes and deforestation may threaten small populations of woodpeckers living in this region. In this way, protected areas located along the Andes mountain range, such as the Conguillío National Park, may fail to conserve Magellanic Woodpeckers and potentially other forest biota, given that woodpeckers are closely associated with many other forest specialists (Garmendia et al 2006, Roberge et al 2008b. Further studies should address how accelerating land-use change from agricultural intensification, forestry, exotic plantations, and urbanization around the southern Chile national parks may contribute to declines of Magellanic Woodpeckers, as has been assessed for other woodpecker species (e.g., see Gjerde et al 2005, Roberge et al 2008a.…”

Ecological and Social Dimensions of Ecosystem Restoration in the Nordic Countries

“…In intensively used systems, such as production forests and hydroelectric rivers, restoration is restricted because of the difficulties in combining production with restoration measures. Forest landscapes include examples of restoration activities to reintroduce functional and structural heterogeneity, in some cases triggered by attempts to support populations of threatened species, such as the White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos) (Roberge et al 2008). In hydroelectric rivers, facilitation of fish migration is a major concern, although there are few real-world examples.…”