Describing the similarities and differences in songbird communities between harvested and wildfire-origin stands in Northwestern Ontario, Canada

Abstract

In Ontario, sustainable forest management is mandated by the CFSA. Natural disturbance emulation is viewed as method that improves sustainability in managed forests. However, few studies have attempted to measure the effectiveness of natural disturbance emulation with respect to maintaining ecological integrity. Using songbird data that was collected in 2021 through the deployment of 96 Acoustic Recording Devices on 157 sample plots in the Dog River-Matawin Forest Management Unit, an analysis was conducted to investigate the similarities and differences in song communities between wildfire-origin (n = 90) and harvest-origin (n = 67) stands. Community-level indices (richness, abundance, and Shannon’s diversity index) were calculated for multiple age classes representing different stand development stages for five different forest species compositional groupings. It was found that in natural stands, regardless of forest type, there was an increase in bird species richness, abundance, and diversity as the forest matured. Managed stands supported a similar richness, abundance, and diversity as natural stands. Where compared, natural and managed stands had different community assemblages. Downy woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) was entirely absent from management stands but was present in natural stands, suggesting that there may be functional differences between the two origin types. Managed stands may have a lower density of standing deadwood with specific dimensions preferable to the downy woodpecker. The retention of size-specific standing deadwood during harvesting may benefit the downy woodpecker in managed forests.