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Neotropical Migratory Bird Communities in a Developing Pine Plantation

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Birds were censused annually from 4 250-x80-in transects in a young pine plantation from age to 2 to 17 to assess changes in the bird community.Bird abundance was low and the bird communitry was the least diverse when the pine plantation was sparsely vegetated at age 2. As the plantation developed rapidly into the shrub stage, the bird communitry became more abundant and diverse.Bird abundance increased consistently until plantation age 6, bt then declined as the pine canopy closed an shaded out lowe deciduous vegetation.Bird species diversity increased gradually during the early years, was highest at plantation age 10 and 11, then decreased.In the latter stages (ages 12-17) early successional avian species were virutally gone, a few shrub-associated species persisted, and some species associated with older stands had invaded the plantation.The bird communitry in this latter canopy-closure stage, was related directly to the presence of hardwood shrubs and trees in the pine-dominated stand.

Citation

Dickson, James G.; Conner, Richard N.; Williamson, J. Howard. 1993. Neotropical Migratory Bird Communities in a Developing Pine Plantation. 1993 Procedings on the Annual Conference. SEAFWA
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/520