Maximizing Benefits from Riparian Revegetation Efforts: Local- and Landscape-Level Determinants of Avian Response |
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Authors: | Thomas Gardali Aaron L Holmes |
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Institution: | (1) Terrestrial Ecology Division, PRBO Conservation Science, 3820 Cypress Drive #11, Petaluma, CA 94954, USA |
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Abstract: | With limited financial resources available for habitat restoration, information that ensures and/or accelerates success is
needed to economize effort and maximize benefit. In the Central Valley of California USA, riparian habitat has been lost or
degraded, contributing to the decline of riparian-associated birds and other wildlife. Active restoration of riparian plant
communities in this region has been demonstrated to increase local population sizes and species diversity of landbirds. To
evaluate factors related to variation in the rate at which bird abundance increased after restoration, we examined bird abundance
as a function of local (restoration design elements) and landscape (proportion of riparian vegetation in the landscape and
riparian patch density) metrics at 17 restoration projects within five project areas along the Sacramento River. We developed
a priori model sets for seven species of birds and used an information theoretic approach to identify factors associated with the
rate at which bird abundance increased after restoration. For six of seven species investigated, the model with the most support
contained a variable for the amount of riparian forest in the surrounding landscape. Three of seven bird species were positively
correlated with the number of tree species planted and three of seven were positively correlated with the planting densities
of particular tree species. Our results indicate that restoration success can be enhanced by selecting sites near existing
riparian habitat and planting multiple tree species. Hence, given limited resources, efforts to restore riparian habitat for
birds should focus on landscape-scale site selection in areas with high proportions of existing riparian vegetation. |
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