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Differential effects of local habitat and landscape characteristics on bird communities in Mediterranean afforestations motivated by the EU Common Agrarian Policy

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Abstract

We investigated the effects of local habitat structure and surrounding landscape characteristics (proportion of land use types and connectedness) on species density and composition of bird communities inhabiting the interior of young tree plantations on former cropland in central Spain, which were motivated by the Common Agrarian Policy. Variation of species density (number of species/0.78 ha) among tree plantations showed different environmental associations across seasons: local habitat was more important than landscape characteristics during winter, whereas they were similarly important during spring. Species density increased with the development of the tree layer in winter and with the presence of urban areas around tree plantations and cover of the herbaceous layer within them in the breeding season. We identified 15 species that exhibit high relative abundance in woodland habitats within the Mesomediterranean region of Central Spain that were absent in both seasons in the studied tree plantations, which were an attractive habitat for urban exploiter species but an unfavorable habitat for the regional forest species pool except for forest generalist species. Composition of bird assemblages was more related to local habitat structure than to landscape characteristics around tree plantations and was rather similar in winter and spring seasons. The very different effects of local habitat and landscape characteristics on bird communities make difficult suggesting management practices with positive effects for all avifauna species during the entire year. We conclude that the small size and low maturity of the studied tree plantations do not contribute to enhancing the bird diversity value of current CAP aids to afforest former cropland with pines in the Mediterranean region.

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Acknowledgments

Projects from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education (CGL2010-18312) and the Government of Madrid (S2009AMB-1783, REMEDINAL-2) are currently providing financial support for this body of research. Claire Jasinski kindly improved the English of an early draft. We are indebted to two anonymous reviewers whose comments improved a previous version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dpto. de Ciencias de la Vida, Edificio de Ciencias, Universidad de Alcalá, 28871, Alcalá de Henares, Spain

    J. S. Sánchez-Oliver & J. M. Rey Benayas

  2. Dpto. Biogeografía y Cambio Global, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, MNCN-CSIC, José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    L. M. Carrascal

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  1. J. S. Sánchez-Oliver
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  2. J. M. Rey Benayas
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  3. L. M. Carrascal
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Correspondence to J. M. Rey Benayas.

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Communicated by C. Gortázar

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Sánchez-Oliver, J.S., Rey Benayas, J.M. & Carrascal, L.M. Differential effects of local habitat and landscape characteristics on bird communities in Mediterranean afforestations motivated by the EU Common Agrarian Policy. Eur J Wildl Res 60, 135–143 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-013-0759-y

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