Bird composition of different valley habitats after land-use changes in Northern Honduras

The northern coast of Honduras is potentially covered with tropical rainforests, reaching from the Caribbean Sea up to the cloud forests of the Pico Bonito summits. Therefore, it was blessed with the megadiverse avifauna of the Central American humid neotropics. Although local bird species have been generally well documented, there are hardly any updates on the biodiversity of northern Honduras. Thus, this study contributes to our knowledge of the natural shift of bird life, following up the Cangrejal River with its different slight land use intensification in the region. Standardized bird records along the valley are analyzed, reaching from the beaches of La Ceiba up to the managed rainforests of El Toncontins in the lower montane rainforests. Nine points were checked over the course of at least 6 days, taking point counts between 16 March and 20 June 2005. A NMDS of the joined nine point-lists elucidates four main groups, namely the beach/city ecosystems, open habitats along the river banks, slightly cleared forests (park landscape), and a mature rainforest. In total, 115 bird species, from 102 genera and 44 families, were found in 2005. As methods are limited, results can represent merely a prodromus of bird composition of neotropical valleys of the Central American isthmus. However, avi-diversity is affected by forest degradation and increasing land-use changes. Since deforestation is still soaring in the region, bird species composition should be monitored, as it will be as dynamic as land use changes in the region.Peer reviewe

Bird records from the rural landscape of Igarapé-Açu municipality, Northeastern Pará

This paper reports on bird records from the little studied Bragantina region, in the densely populated Northeastern Amazon. This region was a center of human colonization in the last century, resulting in the nearly complete replacement of rainforests by a dynamic, mosaic-like rural landscape pattern. From February 1999 to January 2001, I surveyed birds at three sites: a 25-ha smallholding farm, and around two small lakes, in the municipality of Igarapé-Açu. Bird species were recorded along 36 days during an agricultural experiment. As would be expected, species lists from these sites show reduced bird diversity in comparison to primary forests. They also reveal a preponderance of robust, widespread generalists, such as Crotophaga ani (Linnaeus, 1758), Ramphocelus carbo (Pallas, 1764), and Columbina passerina (Linnaeus, 1758). However, endemic Xipholena lamellipennis (Lafresnaye, 1839), Tachybaptus dominicus (Linnaeus, 1766), and Primolius maracana (Vieillot, 1816) (high count of 34 at one time), were also observed. In all, 110 bird species (representing 95 genera and 40 families) are listed with information about abundance and habitat. More detailed surveys of this region are recommended, which should focus on gallery forests that might serve as refuges for some forest species

Comparing floristic composition in treefall gaps of certified, conventionally managed and natural forests of northern Honduras

• Forest certification sets requirements for minimizing the impacts of logging on the natural structure and floristic composition of forests. • We assessed the impact of certification by comparing the floristic composition of 52 taxa of trees and shrubs in the treefall gaps of certified, conventionally managed and protected forests in northern Honduras. • The highest abundance of light-benefiting taxa was found in certified forests, whereas conventionally managed forests were floristically more similar to natural forests. The environmental conditions measured in certified gaps were not favourable for a natural forest floristic composition. • Past logging may have altered the species composition in certified forests relatively more than in conventionally managed forests. This implies that the need for restoration operations should be considered in certification requirements, along with landscape-level planning to enhance post-logging recovery

Accelerating Capoeira Regeneration on Degraded Pastures in the Northeastern Amazon by the Use of Pigs or Cattle

In the humid tropics of Latin America, considerable proportions of agro-scapes are covered with degraded pastures that were taken over by dense weedy shrub canopies hampering further forest succession. While tree seeds are still constantly dispersed by bats and birds, these often do not reach the soil but got stuck in the dense shrubby vegetation. While manual up-rooting of weedy shrubs or tree replantation is too expensive, we tested if burrowing pigs or trampling cattle can enhance proportions of bare soils for fallow restoration. These hypotheses were tested in on-farm experiments at Igarapé-Açu, northeastern Pará. Soil-opening effects of ten pigs (40 days + nights) and ten oxen (40 overnight stays), respectively, were tested against manual clearing and control on three plots per treatment, respectively. Ground cover percentages of bare soil, weedy shrubs, grasses, and tree species were visually determined in 40 plots/treatment before and directly after treatments, and half a year later (n = 480 samples). Both animal treatments could not really match manual clearing (62%) but pigs reached above 36% bare ground cover, while cattle just 20%. As pigs are almost omnipresent on Amazonian smallholdings and even give a modest economic refund, the use of pigs is recommended to smallholders who want to break up the lush weed layers for the benefit of forest restoration

Distributional notes on birds of Andean dry forests in Bolivia

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Vegetation Succession on Degraded Sites in the Pomacochas Basin (Amazonas, N Peru)—Ecological Options for Forest Restoration

The Andes of northern Peru are still widely covered with forests, but increasingly suffer from habitat fragmentation. Subsequent soil degradation often leads to the abandonment of overused forests and pastures. Ecological knowledge on the restoration potential, e.g., on dependencies of soil conditions and altitude, is scarce. Therefore, we compared soil and vegetation patterns along nine transects within the upper Pomacochas Basin, which is an important biodiversity corridor along the Andes, between remaining forests, succession sites and pastures. Anthropogenic successional and disturbance levels, geological substrate, and altitude have the most important ecological impacts on vegetation and tree species composition. Species responded to sandstone versus calcareous substrates, but also to depths of the organic soil layer, and light conditions. The absence of organic layers under pastures contrasted with the accumulation of thick organic layers under forest cover. Vegetation composition at succession sites revealed certain starting points (herbal stage, bush stage, or secondary forest) for restoration that will determine the length of regeneration paths. Pre-forest patches of Alchornea sp. and Parathesis sp. may act as habitat stepping stones for expeditiously restoring biocorridors for wildlife. The key findings can contribute to the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity in a fragile ecoregion