Chapter 9 Population Trends for Eastern Scrub-Shrub Birds Related to Availability of Small-Diameter Upland Hardwood Forests
| Authors: | Kathleen Franzreb, Sonja Oswalt, David Buehler |
| Year: | 2011 |
| Type: | Book Chapter |
| Station: | Southern Research Station |
| Source: | Sustaining Young Forest Communities: Ecology and Management of Early Successional Habitats in the Central Hardwood Region, USA. Managing Forest Ecosystems Volume 21. |
Abstract
Early successional habitats are an important part of the forest landscape for supporting avian communities. As the frequency and extent of the anthropogenic disturbances have declined, suitable habitat for scrub-shrub bird species also has decreased, resulting in significant declines for many species. We related changes in the proportion and distribution of small-diameter upland hardwood forest throughout the eastern USA (US Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis data) with North American Breeding Bird Survey data (US Geological Survey) on population trends of 11 species that use early successional hardwood forest. The availability of smalldiameter upland hardwood forest has changed over the past four decades, with the biggest differences seen as declines from the 1990s to the 2000s. Most scrub-shrub species also declined since the inception of the Breeding Bird Survey in 1966. The declines in most of the bird species, however, did not closely track the changes in small-diameter forest availability. Scrub-shrub birds use a variety of habitats that originate from a diverse array of disturbance sources. The total availability of these habitats across the region apparently limits the populations for these species. A comprehensive management strategy across all of these types is required to conserve these species.