The effect of stand-level habitat characteristics on breeding bird assemblages in Hungarian temperate mixed forests

Abstract

The effects of stand structure, tree species composition, proportion of habitat types and land use history on breeding bird assemblages in temperate mixed forests in Western Hungary were studied. The species richness, the abundance and the composition of the whole breeding bird assemblage and of some groups formed on the basis of nesting site and rarity were examined. Stand structural variables had the highest impact on the breeding bird assemblage, while tree species composition, the varying proportion of vegetation types and land use history had no significant effect. In the case of the species richness, the abundance and the composition of the whole assemblage, the most important variables were the mean diameter of trees, the vegetation cover of the forest floor and the dead wood volume. The explained variance in the linear models of different groups varied between 20% and 60%, and the relative importance of these three variables also differed considerably. These results indicate that forest management may considerably influence the diversity and the composition of birds, as all the structural elements affecting birds deeply depend on it. Within the shelterwood management system, the elongation of the rotation and regeneration periods, and the relatively high proportion of retention tree groups after harvest could contribute to the conservation of forest birds. Our results also showed that for the forest bird communities, both the prevalence of big trees and the presence of a dense understory layer are important. Management regimes which apply continuous forest cover might be more appropriate for providing these structural elements simultaneously on small spatial scales, and for the maintenance of a more diverse bird community, thus healthier forest ecosystems.