Differential effects of vegetation restoration in Mediterranean abandoned cropland by secondary succession and pine plantations on bird assemblages

Benayas, José M. Rey; Galván, Ismael; Carrascal, Luis M.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2010.04.004

Cited by 52 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Forest structure can have strong effects on their avian assemblage composition [17,35]. In fact, the structural complexity of the vegetation can affect bird assemblages more than floristic richness [24], even at local scales [44,63].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Birds are widely used as bioindicators for the monitoring of ecosystems under restoration, as they commonly present fast responses to forest development [16][17][18] and perform important ecological functions such as pollination, seed dispersal, and predation [19][20][21]. Bird assemblages can show large shifts in their composition according to the vegetation successional stage [22][23][24][25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bird Functional Traits Respond to Forest Structure in Riparian Areas Undergoing Active Restoration

2018

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Abstract:Monitoring wildlife responses is essential to assess restoration projects. Birds are widely used as bioindicators of ecosystem restoration, but most studies use only taxonomic descriptors to compare categories of reference and restoring sites. Here, we used forest structure as a continuous predictor variable to evaluate avifaunal taxonomic and functional indicators in riparian forest reference and restoration sites on southeastern Brazil. Reference sites were riparian forest remnants, and restoration sites were pasture before seedling reintroduction. Forest structure variables (mean tree height, canopy depth, mean diameter at breast height, basal area, tree layering, tree density, and grass cover) were reduced into two axes using a Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Forest Axis 1 (tree biomass vs. grass cover) and Forest Axis 2 (canopy depth vs. tree density). Bird species were classified in relation to five functional categories (i.e., diet, foraging stratum, nest height, cavity dependence for nesting, and forest dependence). Forest Axis 1 influenced the functional diversity of bird assemblages and the relative abundance within levels of each functional category (except for nest height). The relative abundance of all functional categories combined was also affected by Forest Axis 2. Therefore, forest structure affected the predominant functional traits of bird species in riparian sites under restoration. Sites with higher tree biomass were the richest, with canopy birds that were insectivores and frugivores of high forest dependence, whereas more open sites were associated with birds of low forest dependence and ground-foraging insectivores. Forest structures of similar-aged sites were strongly variable, due to natural and anthropic disturbances, so restoration age was a poor indicator of forest development. These unpredictable disturbances can change the development of sites under restoration, so that forest structure can be a better descriptor of the trajectory of these ecosystems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bird Functional Traits Respond to Forest Structure in Riparian Areas Undergoing Active Restoration

2018

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“…The second type of restoration was to reforest with an introduced species dependent on levels of forest and soil degradation, residual vegetation, and desirable restoration outcomes (Chazdon 2008). The third type of restoration involved the artificial means of establishing a plantation of native species (Rey-Benayas et al 2010). Transformation of natural forest to economic forest or farmland would lead to decline in soil fertility (Liu et al 2009) and high restoration costs (Stone 2009).…”

Section: Implications For Forest Restorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon metabolism of soil microbial communities of restored forests in Southern China

et al. 2011

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Purpose The structure and dynamics of carbon metabolic process of the soil microbial community in restored forests were dependent on the methods employed in reforestation and subsequent management. To find an appropriate method to restore degraded forests and to assess the ecological benefits of restorations, we studied community level physiological profiles of soil microbial communities in forests in Southern China that were restored by three different methods. Materials and methods Community level physiological profiles of soil microbial communities in restored introduced slash pine (Pinus elliottii) plantation, restored native Masson pine (Pinus massoniana) plantation, and natural secondary forest in Southern China were studied based on outcomes of the Biolog TM Ecoplates incubation. For each type of restored forest, 15 experimental plots were randomly selected in Southern China. In each plot, three composite samples of 0 to 10 cm depth were obtained from three subplots for the analyses. Results and discussion It was found that the soil microbial communities of three types of restored forests were capable of metabolizing all 31 preselected carbon substrates on Biolog TM Ecoplates. However, the soil microbial community of the natural secondary forest was more diverse in structure of carbon metabolism, and more efficient in utilizing the carbon substrates than those of the Masson pine and slash pine plantations that had to acclimate and adopt different biochemical pathways to metabolize some of the carbon substrates. Soil available N content, moisture content, organic C content, microbial biomass C content, pH, clay content, and Shannon-Wiener diversity index of tree layer were factors contributing to the carbon source utilization structure of the soil microbial communities for the three types of restored forests. Conclusions The soil microbial communities of all three types of restored forests would provide the same ecological services in metabolizing carbon sources in the forest soils. The microbial community of the natural secondary forest was consistently more efficient in carbon utilization than those of the Masson pine and slash pine plantation and often the Masson pine plantations were more efficient than that of the slash pine plantations. The natural secondary forest had a more diverse and stable soil microbial ecosystem and would be more adaptable to and respond more rapidly to environmental changes.

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“…Reforestation with pines creates a vegetation structure that is different from that present in natural Mediterranean woodlands. Thus, natural Mediterranean woodlands present higher tree cover and less complexity of vegetation strata than pine plantations (Sirami et al 2007;Rey Benayas et al 2010), hence the Communicated by Esa Lehikoinen.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bird species in Mediterranean pine plantations exhibit different characteristics to those in natural reforested woodlands

Galván

Benayas

2010

Oecologia

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Passive woodland regeneration following cropland abandonment and pine plantations are two major approaches for vegetation restoration in agricultural landscapes in the Mediterranean Basin. We compared the effects of these two contrasting approaches on local bird density in central Spain on the basis of species characteristics, including regional density, habitat breadth, life-history traits and plumage colouration. Local bird density increased with regional density and habitat breadth in both woodland and pine plantation plots following macroecological patterns of bird abundance and distribution. In woodlands, dichromatic species were more abundant than monochromatic species and bird density increased with the intensity of territory defense and as the proportion of plumage colour generated by pheomelanin decreased. Contrary to our prediction, this latter observation suggests that woodlands may induce higher levels of physiological stress in birds than pine plantations even though these represent a novel habitat change. In pine plantations, sedentary species were more abundant than migratory species and bird density was negatively related to body and egg mass. These traits of bird species in pine plantations are characteristic of successful invaders. The variation in bird density explained by phylogeny was twice as high in pine plantations as in woodlands, suggesting that pine plantations limit accessibility to some clades. Our results support, from an evolutionary perspective, the described inability of pine plantations on cropland to maintain or increase bird diversity in Mediterranean agricultural landscapes.

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Differential effects of vegetation restoration in Mediterranean abandoned cropland by secondary succession and pine plantations on bird assemblages

Cited by 52 publications

References 48 publications

Bird Functional Traits Respond to Forest Structure in Riparian Areas Undergoing Active Restoration

Bird Functional Traits Respond to Forest Structure in Riparian Areas Undergoing Active Restoration

Carbon metabolism of soil microbial communities of restored forests in Southern China

Bird species in Mediterranean pine plantations exhibit different characteristics to those in natural reforested woodlands

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