Responses of woodpeckers to selective logging and forest fragmentation in Kalimantan - preliminary data

LAMMERTINK, M.

Balikpapan, Indonesia

Workshop; Workshop Proceedings 'The balance between biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of tropical rain forests'; 1999

The Tropenbos Foundation

Woodpecker diversity, densities and foraging ecology are being studied in primary forests, logged landscapes (with primary and logged patches) and small forest fragments in West Kalimantan. Woodpecker species richness does not differ between primary forest and logged landscapes, but is lower in small forest fragments. Densities of woodpeckers in primary and logged landscapes do not differ significantly, although differences may become significant when more replica study sites of forest types have been established. Average densities over 3 primary and 3 logged sites are lower in logged landscapes for 9 out of 13 woodpecker species. Within logged landscapes, 8 out of 9 woodpecker species are more abundant in primary patches than in logged patches. This preference for primary patches is significant for the checker-throated woodpecker, Picus mentalis. The checker-throated woodpecker is a highly mobile forager of the lower storeys and its density is negatively correlated with the volume of dense foliage between heights of 0 and 15 m. Reduced impact logging should aim to avoid the creation of a dense understorey and to retain moist dead trees under the forest canopy.