Local colonization and extinction in forestry habitats: Assessing the effects of productive activities on the occupancy dynamics of bird populations

Abstract

AbstractAssessing the impact of working landscapes on biodiversity and defining locally contextualized management guidelines for productive activities are key for sustainability. Occupancy dynamics provide information about sites in the landscape that are either avoided or preferred by populations through the estimation of extinction and colonization probabilities, respectively. We identified the habitat traits that affected colonization and extinction probabilities of target birds (forest‐dependent, endemic, or conservation concern species) within a Neotropical working landscape by using multi‐season occupancy models to point count data collected through a participatory monitoring approach and considering our imperfect detectability of species in the field. We provided colonization and extinction scenarios according to local land uses (forestry plots, urban‐cropfield areas, and conservation forests) to recommend management activities that could have a positive impact on bird conservation. Shrub cover was key for local colonization of most of our focal species. Increasing values of tree size and tree species richness can enhance microhabitat complexity, which in turn promotes the presence of arboreal birds. Selective forestry management, in which only the largest individuals of a few tree species are extracted, promoted high colonization rates of birds because the structure of the vegetation remains relatively unaffected. In contrast, intensive forestry management plots, in which most trees are removed, resulted detrimental for bird occupancy. Local management guidelines should pay special attention to maintaining shrub cover, tree size, and tree species richness above critical values (>50%, >30 cm, >7 tree species, respectively) to promote habitat use by birds in this type of working landscapes.Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.