Abstract
BackgroundHarvesting of forest products is a widespread driver of disturbance in developing nations, where policies are increasingly aimed at managing natural forests for sustainable use. There is thus need for research aimed at understanding the impact of resource use on forest habitats and concomitant effects on biodiversity. Afromontane forests in the Eastern Cape, South Africa are harvested informally for poles and medicinal bark and occur along elevational gradients of 800–1600 m above sea level. Patterns of spatial diversity and human disturbance are expected to be affected by elevation. Furthermore, species’ responses to disturbance are expected to vary depending on their level of habitat specialisation. Understanding harvest impacts on forest biodiversity thus requires disentangling the separate effects of elevation and disturbance, and considering forest-specialist and forest-generalist species separately. This study comprises two components. First, harvest activities, resultant harvest-mediated habitat heterogeneity, and avifaunal species richness, composition and beta-diversity were compared across two elevational zones in a harvested forest. Second, the role of harvest-mediated habitat heterogeneity in driving patterns of avifaunal diversity were assessed, while controlling for elevation, and considering forest-specialist and forest-generalist species separately.ResultsHarvest rates were higher, and activities more varied in the lower elevation zone, with significant impacts of harvesting on habitat features resulting in higher harvest-mediated habitat heterogeneity at lower elevations. Harvest-mediated increases in habitat heterogeneity positively affected forest-generalist species richness, while forest-specialist richness was negatively affected. While species composition of both groups differed across elevational zones, variation in harvest-mediated habitat heterogeneity did not fully account for this, suggesting that factors other than disturbance shape avifaunal communities along the elevation gradient. However, variation in harvest-mediated habitat heterogeneity accounted for the amount of beta-diversity attributed to species turnover in the forest-specialist assemblage, indicating that harvest disturbances affect the mechanisms driving beta-diversity of this group.ConclusionSpatial patterns of avifaunal diversity are affected by elevation over a 300-m gradient. Harvesting results in increased habitat heterogeneity, which variably affects avifaunal communities at the forest-scale, with positive effects for forest generalists and negative effects for forest-specialists.
Highlights
Human disturbances and their impact on forest habitats are threatening biodiversity (Bradshaw et al 2009; Newbold et al 2014)
We examine forest disturbance due to resource use, impacts on habitat structure, and concomitant effects on avifaunal communities in Gomo, a representative Afromontane forest occurring along an elevational gradient in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
By controlling for elevation, we show that harvest-mediated habitat heterogeneity was positively associated with overall beta-diversity of the forest-generalist community, and the amount of betadiversity attributed to species turnover in the forestspecialist community (Table 2)
Summary
Human disturbances and their impact on forest habitats are threatening biodiversity (Bradshaw et al 2009; Newbold et al 2014). Several studies have investigated the ecological implications of unregulated forest resource use, revealing significant impacts on forest habitats, from population-level declines of target species (Guedje et al 2007; Williams et al 2013) to community-level changes in floristics and structure (Kumar and Shahabuddin 2005; Sassen and Sheil 2013). While these studies show that resource use is a major driver of habitat modification, our understanding of concomitant effects on faunal biodiversity is limited (Laiolo 2004; Shahabuddin and Kumar 2006, 2007; Gardner et al 2016; Asefa et al 2017). The role of harvest-mediated habitat heterogeneity in driving patterns of avifaunal diversity were assessed, while controlling for elevation, and considering forest-specialist and forest-generalist species separately
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