Factors influencing avian communities in high-elevation southern Allegheny mountain forests
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Myriad factors may influence bird community characteristics among subalpine, central, and northern hardwood forest cover types of the southern Allegheny Mountains. Differences in forest cover types may result from natural characteristics, such as tree species composition, topography, or elevation, as well as from past influences, such as poor logging practices. Our objectives were to: 1) compare breeding bird diversity, richness, and density among 90+ year-old central hardwood (white oak-black oak-Northern red oak) (Quercus alba-Q. velutina-Q. rubra), northern hardwood (black cherry-maple) (Prunus serotina-Acer spp.), and subalpine (red spruce-yellow birch) (Picea rubens-Betula alleghaniensis) stands; and 2) analyze avian community compositions among the three forest categories (n = 30 plots per cover type). We conducted our study on the Monongahela National Forest in Pendleton, Pocahontas, and Randolph Counties, WV.