Songbird Responses to Commercial Clear-Cutting in Maine Spruce-Fir Forests

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Abstract
In commercially clear-cut and uncut spruce-fir (Picea-Abies) stands of northern Maine [USA], the distribution of breeding songbirds was determined by habitat structure. Sampling areas (14) were grouped into 5 seral stages. Stage I was characterized by dense slash and open ground, stage II by dense raspberry stems and deciduous woody stems less than 2 m tall, stage III by deciduous woody stems 2.1-4.5 m tall, stage IV by deciduous woody stems taller than 4.5 m and trees with dbh [diameter at breast height] 10-15 cm and stage V by a dense softwood overstory. Presence or absence of a softwood overstory was the most important habitat feature. Each seral stage was dominated by a characteristic group of breeding bird species. A predictable pattern in response to the breeding avifauna to changes in habitat structure following clear-cutting was discussed.