The importance of non‐crop vegetation for bird diversity in Sitka spruce plantations in Ireland

Factors affecting the bird diversity of planted and semi-natural oak forests in Ireland

“…We found that the diversity of bird communities in plantation and semi-natural forests is strongly related to habitat complexity, in agreement with many other studies in Ireland (Roycroft et al 2008, Sweeney et al 2010a, 2010d, Wilson et al 2010) as well as other parts of Europe (Bibby et al 1989, Barbaro et al 2005, Gill & Fuller 2007, Cherkaoui et al 2009). Therefore, the suitability of heavily browsed semi-natural oak forests for several bird species can be improved through management aimed at promoting the development of a more complex understorey.…”

“…The browsed semi-natural oak forests, however, had lower bird species richness than either of the other two forest types and lower density of warbler species than the oak plantations. These observed differences in bird communities appear to be related to variation in habitat structural complexity, as has been shown by several previous studies in Ireland (Wilson et al 2006, Sweeney et al 2010a, 2010c, Wilson et al 2010), Britain (Gill & Fuller 2007) and elsewhere (Cherkaoui et al 2009, Nikolov 2009). The bird communities of the semi-natural oak forests and oak plantations compare very favourably to previous studies in Irish semi-natural forests (Batten 1976, Wilson 1977, Nairn & Farrelly 1991.…”

Are bird density, species richness and community structure similar between native woodlands and non-native plantations in an area with a generalist bird fauna?

“…Several species recorded in this study have been identified as occurring in Irish Sitka spruce plantations but being closely associated with non-crop broadleaved elements (Wilson et al 2010). Each of these species (Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Treecreeper and Willow Warbler) was recorded at its highest density in either Oak or Ash woodlands, in some cases being several times as abundant as in plantations.…”

Comparison of breeding bird assemblages in conifer plantations managed by continuous cover forestry and clearfelling

“…Bird assemblages in conifer plantations can be enhanced by the presence of more tree species, including broad-leaved trees (Bibby et al, 1989;Barbaro et al, 2005;Wilson et al, 2010) and therefore they represent a potentially important and confounding factor influencing the bird communities in addition to management treatment. However, CCF management can encourage tree species diversity (Pommerening and Murphy, 2004) and the greater presence of broad-leaved trees within our study areas is arguably an intrinsic attribute of that management regime.…”