0000000001326305
AUTHOR
Kurt Bollmann
Structural complexity in managed and strictly protected mountain forests: effects on the habitat suitability for indicator bird species
Increasing the proportion of unmanaged forest in multi-functional forest landscapes is a central goal of international and national conservation strategies. However, the structural development in newly created forest reserves and its impact on forest species remain are controversially discussed, especially with regard to potential negative effects on light-demanding species in the first phase after reserve designation. We evaluated the effect of management cessation on habitat characteristics of four bird species indicative of different seral stages and structural components: Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), Hazel grouse (Bonasa bonasia), Three-toed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus) and Pyg…
How do stand characteristics and crown heterogeneity influence bat activity in forests?
In forest ecosystems, changes in three-dimensional structure that may be induced by forest management influence the presence and abundance of plant and animal species. This is particularly true for bats as they make extensive use of the three-dimensional habitat space in forests for foraging and commuting purposes. Bats show different responses to vegetation structure depending on their foraging strategies and ecomorphological and acoustic traits such as wing morphology and echolocation call design. For instance, species with low wing loading and short-range echolocation are more likely to be found foraging within the forest where the vegetation is relatively dense whereas species with high…
Breeding habitat of a mysterious forest bird – the woodcock in the Swiss Prealps
The woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) is classified as vulnerable on the Red List of breeding bird species in Switzerland. In the past decades, the woodcock abandoned most breeding habitats in the lowlands and in the eastern part of Jura Mountains, and populations nowadays are restricted to areas in the Alps and the western parts of the Jura Mountains. The reasons for the decline are largely unknown. Moreover, there are no studies about breeding habitat use in eastern Switzerland. In this study we assessed the habitat use at a small scale in the forest reserve Amden (St. Gallen) in the eastern Prealps during the breeding season. To detect woodcock prescence we used a non-invasive method of samp…