Unique songbird communities in mature riparian spruce forest compared with upland forest in southern Yukon

Abstract

There has been limited study of songbird communities in different habitats of the lowland boreal forests of southern Yukon, including the mature forest valued for timber harvest. Our goal was to describe the songbird community during the breeding season in a mature (≥80 years since wildfire) forest dominated by white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) adjacent to streams (n = 23) and wetlands (n = 15) compared with a nearby upland forest. Based on point count surveys, songbird communities were unique in the mature forest in the riparian forest edge position, including greater species richness and four significant riparian indicator species. Songbird communities were also unique in the forest adjacent to streams versus wetlands. We mapped species observations along 300 m transects from riparian to upland forests and identified nine species with greater abundance closer to the riparian forest edge. Many of these species are typically associated with riparian and wetland habitats for breeding. Most of the variability in the songbird community was explained by study site, likely related to high variability in forest type and amount of wetland and open water but also to unmeasured habitat characteristics. Our results increase the knowledge of songbird communities in this unique boreal region and suggest that riparian reserve zones in forest management may be useful for protecting songbird habitat.