La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Titre :	Vegetation structure in beech-fir forests: effects on the avian community (2012)
Auteurs :	Sara Sanchez, Auteur ; Jose Javier Cuervo, Auteur ; Eulalia Moreno, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	La Terre et la Vie (67(2) JUN 2012)
Article en page(s) :	213-222
Résumé :	Vegetation structure and composition, and parameters of the bird community (richness and abundance) were studied in managed beech-fir forests in Navarre (Spain). Relationships between bird parameters and vegetation variables differed in different avian nesting guilds. Whereas secondary cavity-nesting bird parameters were not significantly related to any vegetation variable, both richness and abundance of bird species that do not rely on existing holes for breeding increased with the proportion of fir trees, but only in the breeding season. Nest-site selection might be the key factor behind this relationship, since firs would provide more suitable nest-sites than beeches for these species, perhaps because beech leaves are not fully developed early in the breeding season. Moreover, during the winter season richness of birds that do not rely on existing holes for breeding was positively related to the percentage of shrub cover. Although this result should be considered with caution, protection from adverse weather conditions or predation might explain this relationship.

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