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Bird Responses to Lowland Rainforest Conversion in Sumatran Smallholder Landscapes, Indonesia

PLoS One. 2016 May 25;11(5):e0154876. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0154876. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Rapid land-use change in the tropics causes dramatic losses in biodiversity and associated functions. In Sumatra, Indonesia, lowland rainforest has mainly been transformed by smallholders into oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) and rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) monocultures, interspersed with jungle rubber (rubber agroforests) and a few forest remnants. In two regions of the Jambi province, we conducted point counts in 32 plots of four different land-use types (lowland rainforest, jungle rubber, rubber plantation and oil palm plantation) as well as in 16 nearby homegardens, representing a small-scale, traditional agricultural system. We analysed total bird abundance and bird abundance in feeding guilds, as well as species richness per point count visit, per plot, and per land-use system, to unveil the conservation importance and functional responses of birds in the different land-use types. In total, we identified 71 species from 24 families. Across the different land-use types, abundance did not significantly differ, but both species richness per visit and per plot were reduced in plantations. Feeding guild abundances between land-use types were variable, but homegardens were dominated by omnivores and granivores, and frugivorous birds were absent from monoculture rubber and oil palm. Jungle rubber played an important role in harbouring forest bird species and frugivores. Homegardens turned out to be of minor importance for conserving birds due to their low sizes, although collectively, they are used by many bird species. Changes in functional composition with land-use conversion may affect important ecosystem functions such as biological pest control, pollination, and seed dispersal. In conclusion, maintaining forest cover, including degraded forest and jungle rubber, is of utmost importance to the conservation of functional and taxonomic bird diversity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Behavior, Animal / physiology*
  • Birds / physiology*
  • Crop Production*
  • Humans
  • Indonesia
  • Rainforest*

Associated data

  • Dryad/10.5061/dryad.g77m8

Grants and funding

This study was financed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) in the framework of the collaborative German-Indonesian research project CRC990 EFForTS. W. E. Prabowo was supported by a Swiss Government MSc scholarship. The authors are grateful to the Swiss National Science Foundation for its financial support (grant no. 31003A_125398 and 31003A_149656 to R. Arlettaz. The authors acknowledge support from the open access publication funds of the Georg-August University of Göttingen. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.