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Native Shade Trees Aid Bird Conservation in Tea Plantations in Southern India


Affiliations
1 Nature Conservation Foundation, 1311 ‘Amritha’ 12th A Main, Vijayanagar 1st Stage, Mysuru 570 017, India
 

In the Western Ghats, India, we study how different intensities of tea cultivation influence birds. We com-pared bird communities in conventional monoculture tea and mixed-shade tea plantations, both of which use agrochemicals, with organic tea plantations, a rainforest fragment, and continuous rainforest within the Anamalai Tiger Reserve. In 225 point count sur-veys, overall bird species richness and abundance were lowest in conventional tea and up to 33% higher in organic tea. Mixed-shade tea had 40% higher spe-cies richness (including 15 canopy and 4 shrub and mid-storey species – primarily frugivores, nectarivores and insectivores), and 83% higher bird abundance than conventional tea, with a greater proportion of forest-affiliated birds and similarity in species compo-sition with forest sites. The rainforest fragment and continuous rainforest had a higher proportion, richness and abundance of forest-affiliated birds and fewer open-country birds, unlike tea plantations where the pattern was reversed. Habitat associations of 62 bird species in indicator species analysis revea-led similar patterns. Thus organic tea is better than conventional tea for birds, but mixed-shade tea is even better, although still poorer than forests. Retaining or promoting native shade trees in tea plantations will increase bird diversity and abundance, including of forest-affiliated species and support landscape-level bird conservation.

Keywords

Bird Community Structure, Indicator Species, Land-Use Change, Shade Trees, Tea Plantations.
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  • Native Shade Trees Aid Bird Conservation in Tea Plantations in Southern India

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Authors

T. R. Shankar Raman
Nature Conservation Foundation, 1311 ‘Amritha’ 12th A Main, Vijayanagar 1st Stage, Mysuru 570 017, India
Chayant Gonsalves
Nature Conservation Foundation, 1311 ‘Amritha’ 12th A Main, Vijayanagar 1st Stage, Mysuru 570 017, India
P. Jeganathan
Nature Conservation Foundation, 1311 ‘Amritha’ 12th A Main, Vijayanagar 1st Stage, Mysuru 570 017, India
Divya Mudappa
Nature Conservation Foundation, 1311 ‘Amritha’ 12th A Main, Vijayanagar 1st Stage, Mysuru 570 017, India

Abstract


In the Western Ghats, India, we study how different intensities of tea cultivation influence birds. We com-pared bird communities in conventional monoculture tea and mixed-shade tea plantations, both of which use agrochemicals, with organic tea plantations, a rainforest fragment, and continuous rainforest within the Anamalai Tiger Reserve. In 225 point count sur-veys, overall bird species richness and abundance were lowest in conventional tea and up to 33% higher in organic tea. Mixed-shade tea had 40% higher spe-cies richness (including 15 canopy and 4 shrub and mid-storey species – primarily frugivores, nectarivores and insectivores), and 83% higher bird abundance than conventional tea, with a greater proportion of forest-affiliated birds and similarity in species compo-sition with forest sites. The rainforest fragment and continuous rainforest had a higher proportion, richness and abundance of forest-affiliated birds and fewer open-country birds, unlike tea plantations where the pattern was reversed. Habitat associations of 62 bird species in indicator species analysis revea-led similar patterns. Thus organic tea is better than conventional tea for birds, but mixed-shade tea is even better, although still poorer than forests. Retaining or promoting native shade trees in tea plantations will increase bird diversity and abundance, including of forest-affiliated species and support landscape-level bird conservation.

Keywords


Bird Community Structure, Indicator Species, Land-Use Change, Shade Trees, Tea Plantations.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv121%2Fi2%2F294-305