Bird conservation in fragmented mediterranean forests of Spain: effects of geographical location, habitat and landscape degradation.

The effects of habitat fragmentation on forest bird assemblages were analysed in 214 holm oak (Quercus ilex) remnants spread across the northern and southern plateaux of central Spain. Bird richness was highly dependent on fragment area for all species regardless of isolation, and barely affected by habitat traits. Geographical location was associated with high differences in richness of bird assemblages, which included 17 species exclusive to northern remnants and one exclusive to southern remnants. This supports the hypothesis that habitat suitability deteriorates sharply from north to south for forest birds in Spain. The species-area relationships of bird assemblages sampled in fragmented forests along a broad continental gradient (from Norway to southern Spain) showed that true forest birds only nest in woodlands >100 ha in southern Spain, whereas the full complement of forest species occurs in much smaller fragments in central-western Europe. Loss of species that are particularly sensitive to habitat fragmentation accounts for these differences between dry Spanish and mesic European woodlands. These results are explained by the low habitat suitability of Spanish woodlands, associated with the restrictive conditions for plant regeneration in the Mediterranean climate and long-standing human usage. There is, therefore, a particular need to develop management strategies that conserve birds, and probably other forest organisms, in Mediterranean regions by preventing habitat deterioration and decreases in fragment size, and by conserving all woods >100 ha.

Data and Resources

Cite as

Santos T. Tellería J.L. y Carbonell R. Bird conservation in fragmented mediterranean forests of Spain: effects of geographical location habitat and landscape degradation. Elsevier, 2002. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3207(01)00210-5

Clipboard Icon
Retrieved: 09 Nov 2025 16:40:04
RIS BibTeX

Metadata
Download
DCAT-AP/NTI-RISP

Basic information
Resource type Text
Date of creation 2025-05-23
Date of last revision 2025-05-23
Show changelog
Metadata identifier 6ef8cea1-b3b9-5662-995a-22f1a264efcf
Metadata language Spanish
Themes (NTI-RISP)
High-value dataset category
ISO 19115 topic category biota
Keyword URIs
Bibliographic information
Name of the dataset creator Santos, T., Tellería, J.L. y Carbonell, R.
Name of the dataset editor Elsevier
Other identifier DOI: 10.1016/S0006-3207(01)00210-5
Identifier of the dataset creator
Email of the dataset creator
Website of the dataset creator
Provenance
Lineage statement
Metadata Standard
Version notes
Version