Effect Of Grass-Forest Ecosystem On Breeding Birds Community In Honghuarji Of Inner Mongolian

From June to July in 2005～2006, we divided grass-forest ecosystem of Honghuaerji into seven types of edge habitats according to vegetation composition and physical characteristics. Reseached on avian community of seven edge habitats was conducted by using sampling methods, Results show:60 birds species were recorded in summer breeding season in Honghuarji area, which attach to 25 families, 11 orders. The PASSERIFORMES were 38 species, accouted for 63.33% in all, From birds resident types, 37 species were Summer visitor, accouted for 61.67%; the Resident were 21, accout for 35%; the Passenge migrants were only 2, accouted for 3.33%. In term of distribution types, Palaearctic species were 22, accout for 36%; and Oriental species was only 1, accouted for 2%.Birds distribution is changing with habitat type and edge distances in Honghuaerji. According to our analysis for birds community in different edge distances, the results suggest that within 50m of edge distance to forests, birds community have the highest diversity index. birds community diversity decreased with increasing distance from edge. The distance of edge effect is within 200m, if go beyond the range, birds community diversity hasn't remarkable change with edge distance. The bird diversity in forest is higher than grass when in the same edge distance.To analysis for different edge habitat birds show: in the 7 type of edge habitats, the bird diversity index from high to low is: the brush wetland-natural Mongolian pine forests(3.5), brush grass-natural Mongolian pine(3.16), the interforest grassland-natural and mature Mongolian pine forests(3.02), the grassland-natural Mongolian pine forests(2.70), the grassplantation Mongolian pine forests (2.51), the farmland area(2.46), the burned forests areas(1.7). The similarity of birds compositon between interforest grassland-natural-mature Mongolian pine forest and the brush grass-natural Mongolian pine was 0.68, however, the interforest grassland-natural-mature Mongolian pine forest and farmland was 0.18.After burnning, birds community diversity and density in Mongolian pine forests have been increased gradually with time increasing. Each year, birds community composition was different, but the difference was not significant. In the ninth year after burned(2005), birds species number, compared with the natural Mongolian pine forests in the same year, which accout for 52.63%. However, in the tenth year(2006), we recorded only 4 species, which accout for 28.6% compared with the same year 14 species of natural Mongolian pine forests, but the birds composition between burned and unburned area was different, this result show that the burned Mongolian pine forests restored slowly.