Beauty before age: landscape factors influence bird functional diversity in naturally regenerating fragments, but regeneration age does not. Issue 2 (21st October 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dias, Davi F. C.; Ribeiro, Milton C.; Felber, Yan T.; Cintra, Ana L. P.; de Souza, Natália S.; Hasui, Érica
• Is Part Of: Restoration ecology. Volume 24:Issue 2(2016:Mar.)
• Page Start: 259
• Page End: 270
• Publication Date: 2015-10-21
• Subjects: Atlantic Forest -- bird -- fauna recovery -- fragmentation -- functional group -- natural regeneration -- natural regrowth -- passive restoration; Restoration ecology -- Periodicals; Reclamation of land -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; 333.7153
• DOI: 10.1111/rec.12293
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1061-2971

Abstract

Abstract : Effective ecological restoration actions should be able to recover ecosystem processes that influence community development in the long term. However, there is scarce information on how landscape factors promote or accelerate fauna recovery. We used a landscape framework to evaluate how functional groups respond to natural regeneration in a highly fragmented region of Atlantic Forest. Using bird functional groups sampled in 15 regenerating forest fragments, we built and ranked models using a model selection approach to test the relative effect of landscape variables on each group. Our results showed that bird community recovery is not determined by the duration of the regeneration process (i.e. forest age), but by how the species responds to the landscape context. Functional diversity and the abundance of the functional groups were mainly related to composition metrics, whereas the functional metric affected only specific groups. Our findings highlight the importance of considering the landscape level to ensure both the colonization of fauna and the restoration of ecological functions.