Bird conservation in fragmented Mediterranean forests of Spain: effects of geographical location, habitat and landscape degradation

Santos, Tomás; Tellerı́a, José Luis; Carbonell, Roberto

doi:10.1016/s0006-3207(01)00210-5

Cited by 81 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…van Dorp and Opdam, 1987;Enoksson et al, 1995;Díaz et al, 1998), implying that smaller isolated patches of forests may have a lower species richness than larger patches of the same habitat. In a Spanish study, Santos et al, (2002) found that native stands of holm oak (Q. ilex) had to be of significantly larger size than similar stands located in central Europe in order to support equal numbers of bird territories and species. This was proposed to reflect the generally less favorable habitats for birds created from anthropogenic disturbances causing fragmentation and deterioration.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influences of forest type and habitat structure on bird assemblages of oak (Quercus spp.) and pine (Pinus spp.) stands in southwestern Turkey

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et al. 2015

Forest Ecology and Management

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The Mediterranean basin exhibits a multitude of forest habitats affected by former and current exploitation and management. Recent afforestation programs have resulted in an increase in the proportion of coniferous trees, while oak stands, formerly utilized for coppicing and grazing, are abandoned or converted into coniferous plantations. The loss of oak stands might negatively affect birds dependent upon broadleaved forests. Studies confirming or rejecting that statement are scarce, particularly in the eastern part of the region. Using a study area in southwestern Turkey we applied a guild-based approach to investigate how pine and oak stands across a chronosequence differ in their capacity to support forest bird assemblages. Variables describing the vegetation were sampled to characterize the stands and relate bird assemblages to stand structure. Bird abundance and species richness was positively associated with age for both stand types. Richness and diversity was highest in oak stands, while there were no differences in bird abundance between the two forest types. Pine stands supported a different bird species composition compared to oak stands of the same age. Stand age and structure, rather than forest type, held the highest explanatory powers for bird assembly structure. Primary cavity-nesters and ground-nesters were more abundant in oak stands, possibly reflecting differences in stand structure and resource distribution. To support these birds with suitable habitats, oaks stands need conservation. Management practices in pine stands should strive for increasing the amount of old trees and retain vegetation in the understory to benefit breeding birds.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influences of forest type and habitat structure on bird assemblages of oak (Quercus spp.) and pine (Pinus spp.) stands in southwestern Turkey

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Eryiğit

et al. 2015

Forest Ecology and Management

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“…Its median dispersal distance is 3 km (van Langevelde, 2000;van Langevelde et al, 2000). Among others, it is affected by forest fires, by intensive cuttings deriving from non-sustainable management and especially by forest fragmentation (Verboom et al, 1991;Enoksson et al, 1995;Bellamy et al, 1998;Santos et al, 2002). The nuthatch has been defined as an umbrella species .…”

Section: Study Area and Analyzed Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustaining forest landscape connectivity under different land cover change scenarios

et al. 2012

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Managing forest landscapes to sustain functional connectivity is considered one of the key strategies to counteract the negative effects of climate and human-induced changes in forest species pools. With this objective, we evaluated whether a robust network of forest connecting elements can be identified so that it remains efficient when facing different types of potential land cover changes that may affect forest habitat networks and ecological fluxes. For this purpose we considered changes both in the forested areas and in the non-forest intervening landscape matrix. We combined some of the most recent developments in graph theory with models of land cover permeability and least-cost analysis through the forest landscape. We focused on a case of study covering the habitat of a forestdwelling bird (nuthatch, Sitta europaea) in the region of Galicia (NW Spain). Seven land-use change scenarios were analysed for their effects on connecting forest elements (patches and links): one was the simplest case in which the landscape is represented as a binary forest/non-forest pattern (and where matrix heterogeneity is disregarded), four scenarios in which forest lands were converted to other cover types (to scrubland due to wildfires, to extensive and intensive agriculture, and to urban areas), and two scenarios that only involved changes in the non-forested matrix (renaturalization and intensification). Our results show that while the network of connecting elements for the species was very robust to the conversion of the forest habitat patches to different cover types, the different change scenarios in the landscape matrix could more significantly weaken its long-term validity and effectiveness. This is particularly the case when most of the key connectivity providers for the nuthatch are located outside the protected areas or public forests in Galicia, where biodiversity-friendly measures might be more easily implemented. We discuss how the methodology can be applied to a wide range of forest landscape management situations, where both the conservation of the forest critical areas and an adequate management of the landscape matrix between them are of concern to achieve the sustainability of the ecological flows and ecosystem services at the wider forest landscape scale.Key words: Forest habitat networks; Forest landscape planning; Least-cost modelling; Spatial graphs; Habitat availability metrics; Landscape matrix; Sitta europaea. ResumenConservación de la conectividad del paisaje forestal bajo diferentes escenarios de cambio en las cubiertas del suelo La gestión de los bosques para mantener la conectividad ecológica se considera una de las estrategias clave para contrarrestar los efectos negativos provocados por el cambio climático y de los usos del suelo sobre las especies forestales. Con este objetivo, en este estudio evaluamos la posibilidad de identificar una red de elementos conectores forestales que sea robusta y eficiente ante cambios potenciales en las cubiertas del suelo que puedan afectar a las redes ...

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“…Many studies dedicated to bird diversity aim to understand factors driving the decline of species diversity and population numbers. Generally, habitat fragmentation (Brotons & Herrando 2001, Santos et al 2002 and land abandonment following rural exodus, timber harvesting and overgrazing are the main reasons for biodiversity losses in the Mediterranean basin (Farina 1995, Suárez-Seoane et al 2002, Sirami et al 2008.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bird Species Diversity of the Mitidja Plain (Northern Algeria) with Emphasis on the Dynamics of Invasive and Expanding Species

et al. 2013

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This treatise investigates the poorly studied bird fauna of Mitidja Plain (Northern Algeria), with particular notes on the occurrence and expansion of new and alien species. Direct observations, supported by ornithological surveys carried out by Progressive Frequential Sampling (PFS), a version of a point count method, have allowed us to identify 125 bird species. These represent 31% of all species known from Algeria. The species recorded belong to 14 orders, 39 families and 37 genera. According to their biogeographic origins, 36 are Mediterranean, 32 Palearctic, 24 Holarctic, 17 European and 16 of European-Turkestani origin. The Mitidja Plain holds 60 resident-breeder species (48% of all registered species) and is a transit zone for many migratory species (summer and winter migrants constituting 20% and 14% of the total, respectively) and occasional visitors (RA = 12%). Among recently expanding species (introduced or local), the Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto and Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus, sampled by the spot-mapping method, experienced a very rapid population growth. The first observations of the former were made in 1996 in Algiers. Its numbers experienced a steep increase after 2002, starting from 5.75 pairs/10 ha to reach up to 31.5 pairs/10 ha in 2006. The same applies for the Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri, surveyed by direct-count at roosting sites. This species has been able to increase and reproduce since its first introduction into the wild in 1996. The increase in study species populations, especially the Rose-ringed Parakeet, may derive from good weather conditions that favoured the species through providing better feeding conditions, thus high reproduction outcomes.

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Bird conservation in fragmented Mediterranean forests of Spain: effects of geographical location, habitat and landscape degradation

Cited by 81 publications

References 29 publications

Influences of forest type and habitat structure on bird assemblages of oak (Quercus spp.) and pine (Pinus spp.) stands in southwestern Turkey

Influences of forest type and habitat structure on bird assemblages of oak (Quercus spp.) and pine (Pinus spp.) stands in southwestern Turkey

Sustaining forest landscape connectivity under different land cover change scenarios

Bird Species Diversity of the Mitidja Plain (Northern Algeria) with Emphasis on the Dynamics of Invasive and Expanding Species

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