Breeding bird community composition in different successional vegetation in the montane coniferous forests zone of Taiwan

To examine the relationship between forest succession following fire and the composition of bird communities, we investigated the vegetation structure, bird population density, foraging behavior and guild structure in bamboo grasslands (11 years since the last fire), pine savanna (41 years), pine woodland (58 years), old-growth hemlock forest (never burned), and old-growth spruce forest (never burned) in the Tatachia area of central Taiwan. Canopy height, total foliage cover, tree density, total basal area of tree, total basal area of snags, foliage height diversity, and tree species richness all increased with successional age. However, shrub cover peaked in intermediate successional stages. The vertical profile of foliage cover was more diverse in later successional forests, which had more breeding bird species and ecological guilds. All the breeding bird species recorded in early and intermediate stages were also found distributed in the late successional forests. Because Taiwan has high precipitation and humidity, and most forest fires in Taiwan are caused by human activities, forest fires and large areas of early successional vegetation were probably rare in the mountain areas of Taiwan prior to the arrival of humans. Therefore, bird species have not had enough time to adapt to areas with early or intermediate successional vegetation. Moreover, late successional forests host all the major plant species found in the early and intermediate stages and have higher foliage height diversity index, which was positively correlated with the bird species richness and bird species diversity index in this study. As a result, all breeding bird species and guilds in the area can be found in late successional forests. Efforts for conserving avian diversity in Taiwan should focus on protecting the remaining native old-growth forests.     

Optimum stand density of Chinese pine forests in Taihang limestone mountains, Shanxi Province

lntroductionChinesepine(Pinust8blaeformNisoneofthemostimportanttreespeciesforafforestationandwidelyspreadinTaihanglimestonemountains,ShanxiProvince.Ittakes85%ofthetotaIareaofpIantations.ChinespineplantationsplantedaremainIyforpurposeofsoiIandwaterconservationandtimber.TheinvestigationofChinesepinepIantationsmadelastdecadeshowedthat,accordingtotheirsitecondition,theexistingstandsdidnotmeettheappro-priatedensity.Standsstructureisuniform.Waterlossandsoilerosionareserious,andsoiffertilitygetd…     

Effect of thinning on LAI variance in heterogeneous forests

Leaf Area Index (LAI) is a main variable controlling carbon and water fluxes. This paper estimated the effect of thinning on the spatial distribution of leaf area in French forests. While many studies have focused on average LAI, we estimated clumping and measured both average LAI and the variation around it. LAI was derived from digital hemispherical photos at three sites: an unmanaged Fagus sylvatica forest in temperate area (control site), a mixed Mediterranean forest of Quercus ilex and Pinus halepensis, and regeneration of F. sylvatica under a mature stand of Pinus nigra in mountainous area. LAI measurements were also made with LAI 2000 devices over 5 years (from 1994 to 1998) within forest stands dominated by either beech (F. sylvatica L.), by oaks (Quercus petraea (Matus) Liebl., Quercus robur (Matus) Liebl.), or by Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). Thinning led to a variable decrease in LAI. The coefficient of variation of LAI (CV_LAI) provided a useful ecological index of the level and type of thinning. For undisturbed stands, CV_LAI varied from 10% to 20%, corresponding to the higher average LAI values. Disturbances created by thinning increase LAI spatial variability, resulting in larger CV_LAI values for all stands considered. Possible explanations of these results and use in remote sensing were discussed.     

Influence of conventional and chemical thinning on stand structure and diversity of plant and mammal communities in young lodgepole pine forest

Silvicultural practices that provide a wide variety of vegetative composition and structure (habitats) in young stands should help manage for biological diversity across forested landscapes. This study was designed to test the hypotheses that: (i) abundance and diversity of stand structure attributes (species diversity and structural diversity of herb, shrub and tree layers) and forest floor small mammal communities, and (ii) relative habitat use by large herbivores, will increase from unthinned to conventionally thinned to chemically thinned stands of young lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forest. Replicate study areas were located near Summerland, Kelowna and Williams Lake in south-central British Columbia, Canada. Each study area had three treatments: a conventionally thinned, a chemically thinned and an unthinned stand. Pre-commercial thinning was conducted in 1993. Coniferous stand structure and understory vegetation were measured prior to thinning in 1993 and 5 years later in 1998. Small mammal populations were sampled intensively from 1993 to 1998. Relative habitat use by large herbivores was sampled in 1998.

Our results indicate that chemical thinning of young lodgepole pine stands produced an aggregated pattern of crop trees compared with stands subjected to conventional thinning. Diameter growth of crop trees in the chemically thinned stands was similar to that in the conventionally thinned, but also to that in unthinned stands. Although horizontal stratification (aggregates of trees) was enhanced, vertical stratification (structural diversity of vegetation) was less in the chemically than conventionally thinned stands. Abundance and diversity of understory vegetation and small mammal communities were generally unaffected by stand thinning in these particular installations. Relative habitat use by mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) occurred in a gradient from highest in the conventionally thinned stand to lowest in the unthinned stand. Habitat use by snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) tended to have the opposite trend. Moose (Alces alces) exhibited no difference in habitat use among stands. Thus, although there were few differences among treatment stands, chemical thinning could be used to develop an aggregated pattern of crop trees in pre-commercially thinned stands to maintain habitat for herbivores such as snowshoe hares and mule deer. Understory plant and forest floor small mammal communities would be maintained in these stands as well.     

放牧对向海蒙古黄榆天然群落春季鸟类多样性的影响

以向海自然保护区内蒙古黄榆天然群落为对象,研究放牧对其鸟类多样性的影响。结果表明：非放牧区、中度放牧区、重度放牧区三种生境,春季栖息的鸟类分别为8目10科12种126只、8目12科15种178只和5目7科9种74只,中度放牧区鸟类多样性最为丰富;在10个生境因子中,天然群落中草本植物的种类数目与鸟类多样性呈正相关关系,是主要的有效预测变量;草本植物种类与放牧强度呈单峰状曲线关系,即随着放牧强度的增加植物生产力将会先增加,直至某一最佳点时达到最大,以后逐渐下降。     

Effect of hill fire on upland soil in Hong Kong

The present study compares the soil chemical properties of a new burnt site and an old burnt site, which had experienced three and one fire(s) respectively since 1988. The new burnt site is presently reduced to grassland and the old burnt site to mixed grassland/scrubland. Repeated fires raised soil pH by 0.27–0.33 units, exchangeable H and K by over 100%, but reduced total exchangeable acidity by 85%, organic matter by 86%, total Kjeldahl nitrogen by 75%, NH₄ by 44%, NO₃ by 42%, total phosphorus by 66%, exchangeable Na by 42%, Ca by 83%, Mg by 41%, Mn by 14%, Fe by 12% and Zn by 4% of the new burnt site against the old burnt site. Fire similarly reduced the effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) and the base saturation by 85% and 90%, respectively. The occurrence of successive fires is therefore hazardous to the environment and in the absence of fire for 6 years the old burnt site has accumulated sufficient organic matter and nitrogen needed for the invasion of the more nutrient-demanding tree species. The selection of tree species and site preparation pertaining to enhancement planting of the fire-disturbed slopes to accelerate forest development are discussed.     

Effects of selection felling and gap felling on forest arthropod communities: a case study in a spruce-beech stand of southern Bavaria

The effects of selection felling and gap felling on arthropod communities were studied over 3 years in a spruce-beech stand in southern Bavaria, Germany. The arthropods were sampled in three strata, using pitfall traps on the forest floor as well as flight-interception traps near the forest floor and in the tree crowns. Coleoptera, Araneae, Opiliones, Heteroptera, Isopoda, Diplopoda and Neuropterida were determined to species level and assigned to ecological guilds. In general, the effects of both treatments on arthropod communities were small. An increase of eurytopic species and species of open woodland as well as of indwellers of deadwood was observed, mainly in the first year after felling. However, forest species dominated the communities in all plots, strata and years. In contrast to selection fellings, gap fellings might favour potential pest species. Nevertheless, in the studied managed spruce-dominated forest site out of the natural growth range of spruce, negative ecological effects such as the repression of forest arthropod species are not expected by small scale fellings.