Factors affecting songbird communities using new short rotation coppice habitats in spring

Avian species richness and reproduction in short-rotation coppice habitats in central and western New York

“…Similar to our finding that adjacent woodlands were not predictors of species richness in SRWC, Sage & Robertson (1996) also found no significant effect. On the other hand, Berg (2002) found that the character of surrounding habitat, including several classes in addition to forest, was the strongest predictor of density.…”

“…For most species, strong linear relationships between growth-year (or plant height) and species richness were also found in studies of SRWC habitats in Europe (Sage & Robertson 1996, Berg 2002. Similar to our finding that adjacent woodlands were not predictors of species richness in SRWC, Sage & Robertson (1996) also found no significant effect.…”

“…In our study, all plots were surrounded by typical rural farmland habitats largely dominated by arable and pasture, with woodlands smaller than 10 ha. Although Sage & Robertson (1996) do not describe the extent of wooded habitat in their study, their census plots in the United Kingdom and Ireland were probably more similar to ours in New York than to Berg's in Sweden, in terms of extent of forest areas.…”

“…The number of species using willow plantations could be influenced by many factors, including the number of years since the plot was last coppiced (growth-year), the size of the plot, and the quality and characteristics of habitat surrounding the plantings (Sage & Robertson 1996). We expected these to be the most important influences, but many others could also contribute to observed variation in species richness (e.g.…”

“…As these woody crops are typically harvested on a three-to four-year cycle they are called short-rotation woody crops (SRWC). Several studies in Europe have shown that in general the species richness and abundance of birds observed in these SRWC are similar to those observed in traditional coppice habitat (Sage & Robertson 1996, Berg 2002. Plots planted as SRWC are extremely dynamic and within four years they change from being essentially open habitat in the year the stools are planted, to being young forest-like habitat with trees that can be 10-15 m high.…”