| With the implementation of recent forestry initiatives, it is becoming increasingly important to assess the effects of these policies on wildlife. In this study, I evaluated the effects of riparian buffer zones on breeding birds within a fragmented, managed, landscape in east Texas during spring and summer of 1996 and 1997. I compared bird abundance and richness, arthropod biomass and abundance, nest predation frequency, and predator abundance between upland, pine plantations and bottomland-hardwood, riparian buffer zones. Within each stand, transects were established parallel to the stand edge to allow comparisons between stand interior, edge, and outside of the stand. Bird richness and abundance and arthropod biomass and abundance were significantly P≤0.5 higher in bottomland interior transects. Predation frequencies on artificial nests also were significantly P≤0.05 higher in bottomland interiors. Raccoons (Procyon lotor) and American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) were the most common egg predators. Predators also were significantly P≤0.05 more abundant in the bottomland interiors than at other sites. Riparian buffer zones, commonly used by forest products companies to create wildlife habitat and preserve water quality, appear to support larger numbers and a greater diversity of birds, arthropods, and predators than upland stands. However, I also found higher nest predation frequencies in the riparian zones, suggesting these areas may serve as ecological traps for breeding birds. |
