An assessment of avian biodiversity and opportunities for enhancement in Ireland's forests: Preliminary results.

Forest expansion in Ireland has led to concern for the characteristic plant and animal communities associated with the planted land. If carefully planned, however, forestry may provide opportunities for conservation and enhancement of biodiversity. This study sets out to provide systematic data on bird assemblages in Irish plantation forests, and to suggest ways in which the biodiversity, as represented by birdlife, might be enhanced. Preliminary data are presented on the general bird assemblages of 'mature' (pole-stage) forests in southwest Ireland during spring/summer, autumn and winter 1996/97, and on bird/habitat relationships. A total of38 bird species was recorded within the 20 forest compartments studied, with goldcrest (Regulus regulus) being the most abundant and widespread. Some species showed marked seasonal variation in forest usage. Habitat factors which showed a positive relationship to bird species richness and/or bird density included, on varying scales, the number of broadleaf species present, proximity to the forest edge, and the amount of undergrowth. Some bird species also showed evidence of association with particular species of conifer.

[1]  T. Kelly,et al.  Greenfinches Carduelis chloris and other bird species feeding on cones of Noble Fir Abies procera , 1999 .

[2]  R. Fuller,et al.  Winter bird communities in forest plantations in western England and their response to vegetation, growth stage and grazing , 1997 .

[3]  David L. Thomson,et al.  The demography and age-specific annual survival of song thrushes during periods of population stability and decline , 1997 .

[4]  R. Fuller.  Bird Life of Woodland and Forest , 1995 .

[5]  A. Taylor,et al.  The breeding biology of the Dipper Cinclus cinclus in south-west Ireland , 1995 .

[6]  Ken W. Smith,et al.  The status and distribution of Nightjars Caprimulgus europaeus in Britain in 1992. A report to the British Trust for Ornithology , 1994 .

[7]  Malcolm L. Hunter,et al.  Wildlife, Forests and Forestry: Principles of Managing Forests for Biological Diversity , 1989 .

[8]  L. Lysaght.  Breeding bird populations of farmland in mid-west Ireland in 1987 , 1989 .

[9]  J. Frazer.  Nature Conservation and Afforestation in Britain. Nature Conservancy Council, Northminster House, Peterborough, England, UK: 106 pp., 2 figs, 57 colour plates, 11 maps, 4 tables, 29.5 × 20.8 × 0.8 cm, card covers, no price indicated, 1986. , 1987, Environmental Conservation.

[10]  C. Bibby,et al.  Birds of restocked conifer plantations in wales , 1985 .

[11]  R. Whitcomb,et al.  Forest Island Dynamics in Man-Dominated Landscapes , 1981 .

[12]  G. Shaw.  The Breeding Biology of the Dipper , 1978 .

[13]  D. Moss.  DIVERSITY OF WOODLAND SONG-BIRD POPULATIONS , 1978 .

[14]  C. Perrins,et al.  Birds of the Western Palearctic , 1978, Nature.

[15]  Gareth Jones,et al.  The new atlas of breeding birds in Britain and Ireland 1988-1991 , 1993 .

[16]  A. Whilde.  Threatened mammals, birds, amphibians and fish in Ireland , 1993 .

[17]  M. Avery,et al.  Birds and forestry , 1990 .

[18]  P. Bellamy,et al.  Effects of broadleaved trees on birds of upland conifer plantations in North Wales , 1989 .

[19]  J. T.R. Sharrock,et al.  The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland , 1980 .

[20]  L. Batten.  Bird communities of some Killarney woodlands. , 1976, Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. Section B: Biological, geological, and chemical science.