Short-term Responses of Animal Communities to Thinning in a Cryptomeria japonica (Taxodiaceae) Plantation in Taiwan

Hsiao-Wei Yuan ； Tzung-Su Ding ； Hsin-I Hsieh

《Zoological Studies》 44卷3期 (2005/07) Pp. 393-402

並列摘要

We determined whether the community composition of birds, small mammals and ground invertebrates differed among 3 levels of thinning (40%, 53%, and 67%) and 1 unthinned treatment in a Cryptomeria japonica plantation up to 1 y after thinning. The understory cover in the moderately thinned treatment (MT, 53% thinned) was significantly higher than those of the other 3 treatments. Different levels of thinning had no significant effect on the species richness and abundance of small mammals and non-breeding birds. Breeding bird species richness and total density and ground invertebrate biomass were greatest with the MT. Most of the avian guilds showed no significant difference among treatments except the densities of tree-omnivores and shrub-insectivores, both guilds of which were more abundant with the MT and less abundant with the light thinning treatment. Results suggested that although abruptly altering the forest structure, thinning in a C. japonica plantation had a neutral, if not a positive, short-term impact on various animal communities. By opening up the forest canopy opening and allowing more plant species to colonize the plantation, we anticipate that more-diverse animal communities will gradually appear within thinned C. japonica plantations.

並列關鍵字

Bird community ； Ground invertebrates ； Habitat selection ； Small mammals ； Thinning