Estimating species number of forest-dependent birds in Japan
2007
Tojo, H.(Forestry and Forest Products Research Inst., Tsukuba, Ibaraki (Japan))
I estimated species numbers of forest-dependent birds, of breeding forest-dependent birds in each natural forest type, and of red-listed forest-dependent birds in Japan as indicators of biodiversity by a criterion specified in the Montreal Process (criteria and indicators for the conservation and sustainable management of temperate and boreal forests). I defined the forest-dependent species as species that require forests for all or part of their habitat needs, and tried to cover all species. Besides 9 extinct species and 116 accidental visitors, 214 out of 417 Japanese bird species were judged as forest-dependent, and 170 of these 214 species breed in Japan. The numbers of forest-dependent bird species breeding in alpine, sub-alpine, pan-mixed, cool-temperate, warm-temperate, and sub-tropical forests in Japan are 14, 86, 100, 110, 95 and 57, respectively. Seventy-six out of 310 forest-dependent 'species and subspecies' are red-listed (listed in the Red Data Book of Japan), including 58 threatened ones. My comprehensive estimate of number of forest-dependent bird species in Japan is greater than those provided earlier and it will be useful in discussions with collaborating countries, a principal aim of the Montreal Process. The number of forest-dependent bird species recorded in an area, however, cannot be used as a simple indicator for sustainable management, because species numbers may increase with disturbance by the invasion of species preferring such a disturbed habitat, and the regional species pool may be diminished by local extinction of some vulnerable species. Therefore, designating specified indicator species sensitive to disturbance, as well as red-listed species, is necessary to evaluate sustainability of forest management practices.
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