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Live fences as tools for biodiversity conservation: a study case with birds and plants

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Abstract

Live fences may act as tools for biodiversity conservation by providing habitat for native species and increasing connectivity in the landscape. We studied the influence of live fence characteristics on species richness and fence use by birds by examining both local and landscape factors. We studied three types of live fences: planted fences of a native tree, planted fences of an exotic, and spontaneous. They were either connected to forest fragments or isolated, and were all within a pasture matrix. Spontaneous and planted live fences maintain a diverse plant (77 shrub and tree species) and bird communities (98 species). Fence types strongly differed in vegetation composition and structure. We found that by analyzing each fence characteristic independently, there was no difference in bird richness or abundance. However, there was a significant correlation when plant richness, structure, and connectivity were analyzed together. This could be the result of some variables counterbalancing each other. Birds used fences for a variety of purposes including foraging, breeding, and moving across the landscape. Native birds and plants used live fences as habitat and refuge in a landscape where large forest tracts have been lost for decades. Live fences in conjunction with small forest fragments maintain a diverse array of plant and birds species that are a subsample of the species originally found in the landscape before extensive deforestation. We recommend the establishment of live fences, allowing growth of spontaneous understory.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Institute of Investigation of Biological Resources “Alexander von Humboldt” for partial funding to this study; Paula Caycedo for her valuable comments on earlier stages of the study and manuscript; Fabio Lozano and Sergio Ocampo for thier help with logistic tasks, Diana Ramirez for preparing the maps, William Vargas and Stella Suarez for their help with the identification of botanic material as well as Jhon Jairo Calderon for allowing us the use of equipment at Nariño University in Pasto, Colombia for drying botanical samples. We also thank Alcaldia de Aranzazu, especially Claudia Gonzalez, for facilitate the collaboration of farmers in Aranzazu municipality and Francisco Cruz from Corpocaldas for giving us the permit to Investigate in this area. We thank Dr. Celia Harvey and two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments to the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogota, Colombia

    Paola Pulido-Santacruz

  2. Department of Ecology and Territory, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogota, Colombia

    Luis Miguel Renjifo

  3. Laboratório de Biologia Genômica e Molecular, Faculdade de Biociências, Pontifícia Universidad Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Av Ipiranga 6681, 90619-900, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Paola Pulido-Santacruz

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  1. Paola Pulido-Santacruz
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  2. Luis Miguel Renjifo
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Correspondence to Paola Pulido-Santacruz.

Appendices

Appendices

Table 3 Frequency of occurrence of tree and shrub species by fence type. C: connected and I: isolated from forest fragments. PEU: planted fences of Euphorbia laurifolia, PE: planted fences of Eucalyptus sp., ES: spontaneous fences in Aranzazu, Caldas, Colombia
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Table 4 Number of records by bird species and fence type, species habitat association, and habitat use
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Pulido-Santacruz, P., Renjifo, L.M. Live fences as tools for biodiversity conservation: a study case with birds and plants. Agroforest Syst 81, 15–30 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-010-9331-x

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