Abundance and diversity of birds in foests with different management goals

Abstract: Research shows a negative relationship between biodiversity and intensity of forest management in boreal environments among others. In Swedish forest management the stands are divided into different management types. Two of them focus on wood production while the other two have a greater focus on nature conservation. This study compares the differences between the management types in terms of the diversity and abundance of forest birds. The data was collected through bird surveys, during three separate spring weeks in 2012, during the months March, April and May in Färna Ekopark, located close to Skinnskatteberg in Västmanland, south-central Sweden. In addition to looking at a general pattern concerning the above relationship, the data was also analyzed separately for four different categories of birds: indicator species, cavity-nesters, resident birds and migratory birds. In the case of overall forest bird community, an ANOVA test was performed to see if the results were statistically significant. The results from all analyses showed that management type NS (active management to enhance biodiversity values) had the highest diversity (expressed by species richness) and abundance of forest birds. Hence, to obtain a more diverse and abundant level of forest birds, more stands should be managed as NS stands.