Long‐term responses of Mediterranean birds to forest fuel management

摘要: Summary 1. Mechanical management of forest fuels is increasingly used in the Euro-Mediterranean region response to abandonment traditional agroforestry and concurrent increase fire hazard. Although fuel may have positive side effects for biodiversity, its long-term impacts remain largely unknown. 2. We a 70-year post-management chronosequence investigate influence time since frequency on bird assemblages cork oak Quercus suber forests. 3. Fuel strongly affected species richness, abundances assemblage composition, with rapid changes often occurring during first 10–20 years, followed next decades by slow convergence pre-management levels. 4. In winter, overall richness abundance, that frugivores shrub foragers, were negatively recent recurrent management, only recovering stands unmanaged >50 years. In spring, insectivore abundance foragers declined immediately following increased maximum about 20 years later, thereafter. Breeding granivores ground groups benefitted from management. There no conservation concern, although few unfavourable status management. 5. Synthesis applications. Our study confirmed mechanical has some early-successional limited. These benefits should be compared strong negative key such as wintering frugivores, which play pivotal role ecosystems promoting seed dispersal. To reconcile aspects, create heterogeneous mosaics patches encompassing range sizes (10–100 ha) successional stages understorey vegetation, including undisturbed This strategy will likely maintain conditions wide contrasting ecological requirements while also reducing