The ecological cost of eucalypt plantations for bird communities

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Expansion of eucalypt plantations in the Basque Country has raised concerns regarding biodiversity, particularly, adverse effects on avian communities. This study examined the differences in bird species diversity across three major forest ecosystems (native forests, pine plantations, and eucalypt plantations) and evaluated the factors influencing these variations, including vegetation, surrounding landscape, forest structure, location and deadwood. Our findings indicated that eucalypt plantations support lower bird species richness and abundance compared to native forests and pine plantations, and that bird species composition in eucalypt plantations was distinct from the other two forest ecosystems, especially compared to native forests. While pine plantations hosted some forest bird species, avian communities remained distinct from those in native forests, emphasizing the irreplaceable role of native forests as bird habitat. Additionally, an analysis of bird-plant interactions suggested that the majority of plant-bird interactions were with native plants, as the plant species and structural diversity of native forests provide a broader suite of niches for birds, compared to more simplified communities of forest plantations . Moreover, these interactions were especially with berry plants compared to tree species. Our study highlights the urgent need for conservation and restoration of native forests to maintain avian diversity and underscore the importance of sustainable forest management strategies that prioritize biodiversity conservation.