Perennial biomass feedstocks enhance avian diversity

摘要: Federal mandates to increase biofuel production in North America will require large new tracts of land with potential negatively impact biodiversity, yet empirical information guide implementation is limited. Because the temperate grassland biome be a hotspot for many candidate feedstocks, likely birds, group major conservation concern. We employed multiscaled approach investigate relative importance arthropod food availability, microhabitat structure, patch size and landscape-scale habitat structure composition as factors shaping avian richness abundance fields one contemporary (corn) two cellulosic biomass feedstocks (switchgrass mixed-grass prairie) not currently managed crops. Bird species density increased prairie switchgrass, but corn, was lower landscapes higher forest cover. Perennial plantings supported greater diversity arthropods, an important neither metric explaining variation community. Avian perennial forb content more diverse vegetation structure. Maximum bird commonly found intermediate specialists were occur prairies. Our results suggest that, contrast have provide benefits populations if they are cultivated patches within relatively unforested landscapes. Ultimately, genetic improvement feedstock genets crop management techniques that attempt maximize simplify reduce value populations.