An assessment of the availability of cavities for secondary cavity-nesting birds in certified and conventionally-logged Neotropical rainforests

SCHAAF, AA; TALLEI, E; RUGGERA, RA; VIVANCO, CG; RIVERA, L; POLITI, N

iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry

Elsevier Products

Año: 2020 vol. 13 p. 318 - 322

The high level of forest intervention and the decrease in biodiversity as a result of logging are incentives to implement forest certification schemes. Despite the advances in the results of the impact of forest certification on biodiversity, there are few studies on species with specific habits, such as cavitynesting birds. The objective of this study is to compare the impact of forestcertification and conventional logging on the richness, availability (density)and dominance of potentially suitable cavity trees for secondary cavity-nestingbirds in the subtropical forests of northwestern Argentina. Seven sites wereselected: three control sites which were not logged for at least 40 years, onesite under Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, and three sites withconventional logging. The results suggest that logged forests under FSC-certification may guarantee a diversity, availability (density) and dominance of potentially suitable cavity trees for secondary cavity-nesting birds, as well ascertain characteristics (such as DBH > 40 cm), similar to unlogged forests forthis group of birds. Therefore, we suggest that the forests of northwestern Argentina should be managed by a scheme under forest certification so that thehigh levels of cavity tree species are maintained.