The effects of conservation measures on bird fauna : A winter bird inventory in Tjäderbergets diversity park

Increasingly homogenous forest landscapes, with fewer occurrences of wildfires, deciduous trees and dying, decaying wood has led to fewer appropriate habitats and feeding opportunities for several forest dwelling species, including birds. This study sought to assess the species richness, diversity, and evenness of winterbirds in forest stands where conservation methods (planting of alder trees, free development, burning of forest stands and promotion of deciduous dominance) have been applied, as well as a managed stand of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), within SCA:s Tjäderbergets diversity park. These stands were compared with managed stands of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). Bird species composition was collected by performing regular 25-minute inventories in each stand type at 5 time periods daily over a 6-day period in late March, 2020. Significant differences in species richness was discovered between a stand of free development and the managed stands as well as a stand treated for deciduous dominance and the managed stands. There were no significant differences with regard to neither species diversity between the observed stand types, nor the presence of specialists or generalists. Evenness between the stand types showed little variation. These results may be due to the overall low number of unique species and individuals in each stand type which likely resulted from low statistical power of the statistical tests. Further research into the effects of conservation measures in forests stands on bird fauna are needed to obtain conclusive results on how conservation measures affect local bird assemblages