The structure of breeding bird species diversity in small area urban tree planting
The introduction discusses the importance of urban green spaces for the conservation and maintenance of bird species diversity. The structure of breeding bird assemblages in urban green spaces is defined by the species composition of trees and shrubs, the area and location of the urban green areas, their distance from the city boundaries, as well as the features of the surrounding territory. The vast majority of studies are devoted to the species diversity of breeding birds in parks and urban forests. Whereas the aim of this study is to estimate breeding bird species diversity and their specific organization features in small area urban tree planting. The main part analyzes the structure of breeding bird assemblages in small area (up to 6 ha) urban green tree plantings. Bird counts were carried out in 2015-2018 and 2021 in 22 census plots in Minsk. In total, 28 breeding bird species from 4 orders was recorded. The species richness of breeding birds varied from 5 to 15 in a single plot. The species richness of breeding birds increased with a rise in the area of urban green spaces. The total breeding bird density between census plots varied from 3.5 to 21 pairs/ha (average 9.01 ± 4.19 pairs/ha). 9 species were dominants: Fringilla coelebs, Turdus pilaris, Sturnus vulgaris, Parus major, Columba palumbus, Chloris chloris, Corvus cornix, Corvus frugilegus and Cyanistes caeruleus, although their proportion in breeding bird assemblages varied. Species breeding in the crowns of trees dominated in the bird assemblages, and their share reached over 69 % (total 11 species). It has been established that larger area tree planting (over 5 ha) are characterized by a relative stability of the interannual structure of breeding bird assemblages in comparison with small area ones (up to 1.9 ha). The high overall breeding bird density in census plots up to 1.9 ha is usually due to the presence of such colonial species as Turdus pilaris and Corvus frugilegus. The obtained data are necessary for introducing measures for management of urban bird species and can also be used to assess the quality of urban ecosystems.