| Logging influences the distribution and abundance of breeding birds by changing the structure and composition of forests. In particular, very little old-growth forest remains. Studies suggest that the structural characteristics of old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest provide habitat not available in younger forests.; This study compared certain characteristics of habitat structure, and abundance of selected bird species in three forest types in the Temagami region of northern Ontario: (i) old-growth pine forests (no history of catastrophic disturbance) (ii) mature pine forests (undisturbed for approx. 100 years) (iii) managed forests (previously pine-dominated and selectively-logged approx. 50 years ago).; Canopy height, tree species diversity and percent cover of vegetation in the upper canopy, average number of vegetation layers and spatial variability in the number of layers were all significantly greater in old-growth than in managed or mature forests. Abundances of some bird species were significantly correlated with habitat characteristics. However, none of the bird species censused were significantly more abundant solely in old-growth forests. Our results suggest that vegetation characteristics predict bird abundance more strongly than forest type. |
