Early bird assemblages under different subtropical forest restoration strategies in Brazil: Passive, nucleation and high diversity plantation

Abstract

Ecological restoration encourages management for the complexity and heterogeneity of habitats, which are crucial for avian fauna structure. Two-year-old bird assemblages were evaluated based on diversity parameters of three different ecological restoration technologies applied in southern Brazil: passive restoration (PR), nucleation (NC) and high diversity plantation (HD). Richness, abundance and diversity were compared using ANOVA factorial design (three treatments x four seasons, with six samplings per season). The highest richness was observed for NC (49 ± 2.45 SD species) and the lowest richness occurred in the HD treatment (37 ± 3.14 SD species), with a similar statistical pattern for abundance and diversity (NC>PR>HD). NC responded favorably to the hypotheses of dynamic equilibrium, heterogeneity and habitat complexity, which are the probable mechanisms that influence primarily assemblage richness. Due to the presence of exclusive species for each treatment, we recommend the application of a mix of the different techniques tested to maximize the number of habitats and their interactions with birdlife.