Tree Diseases, Canopy Structure, and Bird Distributions in Ponderosa Pine Forests

Abstract

We examined how canopy patterns at the landscape scale can influence bird community composition, abundance, or distribution. Our long-term goal is to determine how diseases and other small-scale disturbances that change canopy patterns influence bird distribution. Little is known about these relationships, partly because most measures of disturbance are based on timber production metrics. We developed a spatially dependent metric referred to as canopy closure roughness, which was significantly correlated to bird diversity on 4 ha sample plots, and used it to generate a spatial model showing the distribution of bird diversity at a resolution of 30 mover an area of 1 million acres (the entire Black Hills National Forest). Number of bird species per stand varied between 2 and 16. Number of species and bird diversity were positively related to intensity of tree cutting. Most common bird species were yellow-rumped warbler, dark-eyed junco, Townsend's solitaire, black-capped chickadee and red-breasted nuthatch. The spatial model of bird diversity showed clusters of high diversity at different locations within the forest. These methods may help lead to better tools for managing the linkages between specific disturbances and bird usage and enable more effective disturbance management by offering a platform for spatial planning.