Differences in bird assemblages between native natural habitats and small-scale tree plantations in the semiarid midwest of Argentina

CID, F. D.; CAVIEDES-VIDAL E.

WILSON JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY

WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL SOC

Año: 2014 vol. 126 p. 673 - 685

1559-4491

We studied the effects of the replacement of native natural habitats by small-scale tree 25 plantations for recreational purposes on the general structure of the assemblage of birds. The 26 richness and diversity was similar among habitats, however the total bird abundance was 27 greater in the tree plantations compared to the natural habitats. Also we found that small- 28 bodied birds that forage in the foliage had higher abundance in the natural habitats, while 29 larger-bodied species that live in open spaces and forage on the ground occurred in higher 30 abundance in the tree plantations. The comparative evaluation of the seasonal effect on the 31 avian assemblages of the contrasting habitats showed that natural habitats had a greater annual 32 fluctuation of abundance values, while the tree plantations were more constant. Our study 33 demonstrates that small-scale tree plantations for recreational purposes exert strong effects on 34 bird assemblages, because they increase the abundance of the generalist and common bird 35 species in the region.