Breeding bird communities of upland hardwood forest 12 years after shelterwood logging

We studied the relationship between the effects of shelterwood logging on forest structure and long-term abundance, diversity, and richness of breeding bird communities in an upland hardwood forest at Land Between The Lakes (LBL), Kentucky and Tennessee. Breeding bird communities (point counts in 1987–1989, 1999) and forest vegetation structure (1987–1988, 1999), the year prior to, 1 and 2 years after, and 12 years after shelterwood logging were compared between logged and uncut (>40 years since logging) forest sites. Shelterwood sites had significantly greater mid-story canopy. General avian community trends demonstrated an initial increase in diversity and density the year following logging, and decreased diversity and density in 1999. Uncut sites showed a general decline in diversity in 1989 and 1999. The influence of shelterwood logging varied among taxa and among foraging guilds. Specifically, the ground-gleaning guild was significantly more diverse on uncut sites than on shelterwood sites. We attribute this greater diversity to a more complex and diverse forest understory with greater opportunity for foraging. Logging did not significantly influence diversity, evenness, or richness of the nesting guilds. We examined four priority species of concern (as designated by Partners in Flight): Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina), Worm-eating Warbler (Helmitheros vermivorus), Kentucky Warbler (Oporonis formosus), and Hooded Warbler (Wilsonia citrina). Of these, population densities of Wood Thrush were significantly lower on logged sites than on uncut sites while worm-eating warblers were higher on logged sites. The Kentucky Warbler and Hooded Warbler did not occur on logged sites. Higher densities of birds in our study sites compared to regional surveys suggest LBL is an important local area for breeding bird communities.