Effects of plantation and its harvesting on nocturnal birds: a national-scale test considering detection probability

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K20599
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0603:Forestry and forest products science, applied aquatic science, and related fields
• Research Institution: Forest Research and Management Organization
• Principal Investigator: Kawamura Kazuhiro 国立研究開発法人森林研究・整備機構, 森林総合研究所, 任期付研究員 (90911214)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-08-30 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 夜行性鳥類 / 人工林 / 広域分布 / 生物多様性 / 林業

Outline of Final Research Achievements

To reveal the effects of plantation and its harvesting on nocturnal birds, we established a method for assessing the habitat distribution of nocturnal bird species using literature review and field survey. Using this survey method, we surveyed and analyzed the distribution of nocturnal birds, and showed that the occupancy of the declining Grey Nightjar increased with increasing young forest areas through plantation harvesting. This indicates that recently increasing plantation harvesting contributes to the conservation of early successional species that depend on grasslands or bare grounds and have decreased in many regions in Japan. This study advocated the importance of plantation management considering biodiversity conservation.

Free Research Field

森林生態系管理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

これまで、昆虫や小型の鳥類の生息地として、あるいは大型の猛禽類の狩場として、伐採地・幼齢人工林が機能することが示されてきた。本研究によって、行動圏が大きく、夜行性のため調査・研究が乏しかった中型の鳥類のヨタカにとっても、幼齢人工林が貴重な営巣地または採食地として機能することが明らかになった。この成果は、遷移初期種を含む生物多様性の保全を考慮した森林管理、林業の構築に貢献する。