Versluijs, Martijn
(2019).
Emulating natural disturbances for the conservation of boreal forest birds.
Diss. (sammanfattning/summary)
Umeå :
Sveriges lantbruksuniv.,
Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae, 1652-6880
; 2019: 13
ISBN 978-91-7760-344-3
eISBN 978-91-7760-345-0
[Doctoral thesis]
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- Published Version
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Abstract
In the boreal biome, intensive forestry and fire suppression have led to the loss of natural disturbances regimes and changes in forest ecosystems at the landscape and local scale. A large proportion of the old-growth forests has been converted into even-aged single-species forests, with degraded understory layer and reduced availability of dead wood. This has resulted in the population decline of bird species that rely on structurally complex forest habitat. Restoring habitat structures by mimicking natural disturbance regimes can help to safeguard biodiversity. In this study I evaluated the effects of two ecological restoration measures – prescribed burning and gap cutting – on bird assemblage structure and breeding performance of the European pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca in boreal forests. Additionally, I identified biodiversity indicators and tested how ecological restoration can affect their indicator value. Lastly, I characterized substrate preferences and foraging behavior as measured through foraging time of the Eurasian three-toed woodpecker Picoides tridactylus in forest stands subjected to prescribed burning and in unburned forests.
Prescribed burning increased the abundance of long-distance migrants, ground breeders, strong cavity excavators and species preferring early-successional habitat. Furthermore, fire had positive effects on the body condition of nestlings of pied flycatchers, this suggest that local habitat quality improved. Gap cutting did not influence bird assemblage structures neither the reproductive output nor nestling body condition. The three-toed woodpecker and the Siberian jay Perisoreus infaustus were identified as potential biodiversity indicators among birds. However, after fire, the goldcrest Regulus regulus became the best predictor of high species richness. The main foraging substrate for three-toed woodpeckers can be characterized as freshly dead trees with a diameter breast height (DBH) of more than 15 cm. However, data on foraging behavior suggest that substrates in the 5-15 cm DBH range and living trees are important as well.
The main conclusion from this study is that prescribed burning as a restoration treatment is an effective way to restore habitat for boreal forest birds in managed boreal forest landscapes. These results should encourage forest managers to reintroduce more fire in boreal forests as a complement to other conservation measures.
Authors/Creators: | Versluijs, Martijn | ||||||||||
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Title: | Emulating natural disturbances for the conservation of boreal forest birds | ||||||||||
Series/Journal: | Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae (1652-6880) | ||||||||||
Year of publishing : | 2019 | ||||||||||
Depositing date: | 5 February 2019 | ||||||||||
Number: | 2019: 13 | ||||||||||
Number of Pages: | 58 | ||||||||||
Papers/manuscripts: |
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Place of Publication: | Umeå | ||||||||||
Publisher: | Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences | ||||||||||
ISBN for printed version: | 978-91-7760-344-3 | ||||||||||
ISBN for electronic version: | 978-91-7760-345-0 | ||||||||||
ISSN: | 1652-6880 | ||||||||||
Language: | English | ||||||||||
Publication Type: | Doctoral thesis | ||||||||||
Full Text Status: | Public | ||||||||||
Agris subject categories.: | K Forestry > K10 Forestry production P Natural resources > P01 Nature conservation and land resources | ||||||||||
Subjects: | (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 1 Natural sciences > 106 Biological Sciences (Medical to be 3 and Agricultural to be 4) > Ecology (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 4 Agricultural Sciences > 401 Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries > Forest Science | ||||||||||
Agrovoc terms: | biodiversity conservation, controlled burning, selective felling, Aves, Boreal forests, reproductive performance, foraging | ||||||||||
Keywords: | Ecological restoration, prescribed burning, gap cutting, biodiversity indicators, breeding performance, foraging ecology | ||||||||||
URN:NBN: | urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-e-5209 | ||||||||||
Permanent URL: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-e-5209 | ||||||||||
ID Code: | 15886 | ||||||||||
Faculty: | S - Faculty of Forest Sciences | ||||||||||
Department: | (S) > Dept. of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies | ||||||||||
Deposited By: | Martijn Versluijs | ||||||||||
Deposited On: | 06 Feb 2019 14:25 | ||||||||||
Metadata Last Modified: | 09 Sep 2020 14:17 |
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