Action

Action Synopsis: Bird Conservation About Actions

Use variable retention management during forestry operations

How is the evidence assessed?
  • Effectiveness
    45%
  • Certainty
    20%
  • Harms
    25%

Key messages

A replicated, controlled study from the USA found that nine bird species occurred at higher densities in stands under variable retention management, compared to control stands. Five were found at lower densities.

 

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

  1. A replicated, controlled study in the summers of 2003-2004 in bottomland hardwood forest on Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana, USA (Twedt & Somershoe 2009), found that densities of nine species of birds (six of conservation concern) were higher in stands under variable-retention timber harvests, compared to control (untreated) stands. Densities of five species were greater in untreated stands. Conservation concern scores and detection rates of 30 species, suggest that the mosaic of treated stands afforded greater community-wide bird conservation value than untreated stands. Bird densities were estimated (distance sampling) within forest subject to variable-retention harvests within a 13-year chronosequence (i.e. a set of forested sites with similar attributes but of different ages), and untreated stands.

    Study and other actions tested
Please cite as:

Williams, D.R., Child, M.F., Dicks, L.V., Ockendon, N., Pople, R.G., Showler, D.A., Walsh, J.C., zu Ermgassen, E.K.H.J. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Bird Conservation. Pages 137-281 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

 

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

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Bird Conservation

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Bird Conservation
What Works 2021 cover

What Works in Conservation

What Works in Conservation provides expert assessments of the effectiveness of actions, based on summarised evidence, in synopses. Subjects covered so far include amphibians, birds, mammals, forests, peatland and control of freshwater invasive species. More are in progress.

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