Response of bird communities to selection harvesting in a northern tolerant hardwood forest

• Published in: Forest ecology and management 2007-01, Vol.238 (1), p.280-292
• Main Authors: Holmes, Stephen B., Pitt, Doug G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Aves; BACI; Biological and medical sciences; Bird community response; Bombycilla cedrorum; Dendroica caerulescens; Dendroica magnolia; Forest birds; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Magnolia; Northern tolerant hardwoods; Seiurus aurocapilla; Selection harvest; Synecology; Taxus canadensis; Terrestrial ecosystems; Zonotrichia albicollis
• ISSN: 0378-1127; 1872-7042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2006.10.022

We investigated the responses of forest birds to habitat changes following timber harvest by selection cutting in three northern tolerant hardwood forest stands using a before–after control-impact (BACI) type of experimental design. We observed only minor effects on the bird community associated with mature forests. Ovenbird ( Seiurus aurocapilla) abundances declined by about 80–90% in two of the three harvested blocks. Black-throated blue warblers ( Dendroica caerulescens) declined in abundance by about 70% on a single block 2 and 3 years post-harvest. Mechanical disturbance of the shrub layer [primarily Canada yew ( Taxus canadensis)] was coincident to this decline. Several bird species that prefer early successional or shrubby habitats, such as veery ( Catharus fuscescens), cedar waxwing ( Bombycilla cedrorum), chestnut-sided warbler ( Dendroica pensylvanica), magnolia warbler ( Dendroica magnolia), American redstart ( Setophaga ruticilla), mourning warbler ( Oporornis philadelphia) and white-throated sparrow ( Zonotrichia albicollis), benefited from selection cutting, with the timing of individual species’ responses related to changes in habitat structure and composition. Effects in one block were still evident 7 years after harvest. Guidelines that support a residual stocking target of 20 m 2/ha should promote the retention of mature forest bird communities, including ovenbird, while still providing habitat for early successional bird species.