How forest fires affect bird diversity over time in boreal forest interiors and edges in the Greater Khingan Mountains

doi:10.17520/biods.2022665

Abstract

Abstract:

Aim: Moderate/high-severity fire is highly likely to induce changes in forest structure, function, and forest succession, which further threaten bird composition and diversity. Greater Khingan Mountains is a fire-prone region, however, little is known about how forest fires influence bird diversity, particularly its functional diversity.

Methods We used the point counts approach to survey birds and quantified changes in bird community structure and functional diversity after several fires had occurred at both forest interiors and edges in the Heilongjiang Nanwenghe National Nature Reserve from July to August 2021. Furthermore, a systematic literature review was conducted to investigate the relationship between forest composition and bird functional diversity in the Greater Khingan Mountains.

Results: The results showed (1) the difference in bird community composition was small in the forest interiors, but was great at forest edges, with different fire severity histories; (2) the functional richness and evenness of birds in the forest interiors gradually increased with the increased recovery time since the fire, and bird functional richness was greatest at the forest edges in the early stages of the post-fire disturbance; (3) over time since the post-fire recovery, the proportion of resident birds increased, but the proportion of summer migratory birds decreased at the forest edges; (4) bird functional richness was significantly higher in the mixed coniferous forests compared to the larch dominant forests in the Greater Khingan Mountains region.

Conclusions: This study suggests that maintaining the structural stability in forest interiors and enhancing plant diversity at the forest edges in the early stages of the post-fire are beneficial for maintaining high bird functional richness and evenness in the boreal forests.

Key words: bird community, Greater Khingan Mountains, fire disturbance, forest succession, functional diversity

Fayang Li, Yingyu Li, Wenni Jiang, Shuguang Liu, Chao Huo, Qiaoqi Sun, Hongfei Zou. How forest fires affect bird diversity over time in boreal forest interiors and edges in the Greater Khingan Mountains[J]. Biodiv Sci, 2023, 31(7): 22665.

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URL: https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/10.17520/biods.2022665

https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/Y2023/V31/I7/22665

Figures/Tables 9

Fig. 1 Bird sampling locations with different fire histories in the study area of the Heilongjiang Nanwenghe National Nature Reserve. “FI” and “FE” are abbreviations of “forest interior” and “forest edge” respectively. Inset map shows the boundary of the nature reserve.

Fig. 2 Photos of study areas at the forest interior and edge since post-fire recovery in the Greater Khingan Mountains. Inset maps show details of micro-habitats. FE-5, Forest edge 5 years post-fire; FE-15, Forest edge 15 years post-fire; FE-50, Forest edge 50 years post-fire; FI-5, Forest interior 5 years post-fire; FI-15, Forest interior 15 years post-fire; FI-50, Forest interior 50 years post-fire.

Table 1 Species richness and abundance of birds at the forest interior and edge since post-fire recovery

火后时间 Time since fire (yr)	生境类型 Habitat type	物种丰富度 Species richness	多度 Abundance	总计 Total
火后时间 Time since fire (yr)	生境类型 Habitat type	物种丰富度 Species richness	多度 Abundance	物种丰富度 Species richness	多度 Abundance
5	森林边缘 Forest edge	18	69	33 (80.5%)	173 (41.2%)
5	森林内部 Forest interior	23	104	33 (80.5%)	173 (41.2%)
15	森林边缘 Forest edge	14	68	20 (48.8%)	111 (26.4%)
15	森林内部 Forest interior	16	43	20 (48.8%)	111 (26.4%)
50	森林边缘 Forest edge	16	41	31 (75.6%)	136 (32.4%)
50	森林内部 Forest interior	23	95

Fig. 3 Estimation of sample coverage and species richness based on bird abundance. a, Estimation of sample coverage based on bird abundance; b, Further estimation of species richness based on the sample coverage estimated in figure a.

Table 2 Jaccard index (C) at the forest interior and edge since post-fire recovery

		5年 5 years		15年 15 years		50年 50 years
		森林边缘 Forest edge	森林内部 Forest interior	森林边缘 Forest edge	森林内部 Forest interior	森林边缘 Forest edge
5年 5 years	森林内部 Forest interior	0.24
15年 15 years	森林边缘 Forest edge	0.33	0.28
15年 15 years	森林内部 Forest interior	0.26	0.50	0.38
50年 50 years	森林边缘 Forest edge	0.36	0.34	0.15	0.28
	森林内部 Forest interior	0.21	0.59	0.32	0.50	0.26

Fig. 4 Functional richness (FRic), functional evenness (FEve) and functional divergence (FDiv) of birds at the forest interior and edge since post-fire recovery. Different letters indicate significant differences among groups, with upper and lower case letters representing P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively.

Fig. 5 Proportion of functional composition of birds at the forest interior and edge since post-fire recovery. FE-5, Forest edge 5 years post-fire; FE-15, Forest edge 15 years post-fire; FE-50, Forest edge 50 years post-fire; FI-5, Forest interior 5 years post-fire; FI-15, Forest interior 15 years post-fire; FI-50, Forest interior 50 years post-fire.

Fig. 6 Standardized effect size (SES) of functional richness (SES.FRic), functional evenness (SES.FEve) and functional divergence (SES.FDiv) at the forest interior and edge since post-fire recovery. FE-5, Forest edge 5 years post-fire; FE-15, Forest edge 15 years post-fire; FE-50, Forest edge 50 years post-fire; FI-5, Forest interior 5 years post-fire; FI-15, Forest interior 15 years post-fire; FI-50, Forest interior 50 years post-fire.

Fig. 7 Changes in bird richness, functional richness (FRic), functional evenness (FEve), functional divergence (FDiv) under different forest compositions (Larix gmelinii, Pinus sylvestris and mixed forest) in the Greater Khingan Mountains. * P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01.

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