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The Influence of Forest Management on Bird Communities of Portuguese

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The Influence of Forest Management on Bird Communities of Portuguese The influence of forest management on bird communities of Portuguese montados Carlos António Marques Pereira Godinho Tese apresentada à Universidade de Évora para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Biologia ORIENTADORES: Professor Doutor João Eduardo Morais Gomes Rabaça Doutor Pedro Segurado ÉVORA, SETEMBRO 2016 INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGAÇÃO E FORMAÇÃO AVANÇADA UNIVERSIDADE DE ÉVORA Escola de Ciência e Tecnologia Departamento de Biologia The influence of forest management on bird communities of Portuguese montados Carlos António Marques Pereira Godinho Orientadores: João Eduardo Rabaça Pedro Segurado Doutoramento em Biologia Dissertação Setembro 2016 This Doctoral research was supported by the PhD scholarship number SFRH/BD/81602/2011 funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) under the POPH/FSE Programme. À Susana, à Marta e à Sofia Aos meus pais e ao meu irmão Agradecimentos Uma tese de Doutoramento, com todo o trabalho que envolve durante um período tempo bastante alargado, não é possível de fazer individualmente. É um trabalho conjunto realizado por familiares, amigos, colegas e instituições que muitas vezes o fazem sem saber, mas que prestam um apoio fundamental para chegarmos a esta fase. A todos o meu sincero Obrigado! Em primeiro lugar não podia deixar de agradecer aos meus orientadores João Rabaça e Pedro Segurado. Por terem aceite o desafio e pela incrível ajuda neste sprint final, sem a qual não teria sido possível acabar a tese no prazo! À Companhia das Lezírias pela parceria, ajuda, e disponibilidade em nos deixarem trabalhar na melhor área de estudo que existe. Um agradecimento muito especial ao Eng. Rui Alves sem o qual este processo não teria sido possível. Ao ICAAM e ao LabOr enquanto unidades de investigação que sempre proporcionaram todas a condições para a realização do trabalho. A todos os meus amigos e colegas do LabOr que fazem com que ir trabalhar seja sempre uma aventura, pelo bom ambiente de trabalho, mas principalmente pela boa disposição e amizade, por haver sempre disponibilidade para ir anilhar mais umas aves, ver mais umas barragens, por umas listas no eBird, ajudar em mais um trabalho independentemente de tudo o que já têm para fazer. Inês Roque, Rui Lourenço, Pedro Pereira, Pedro Salgueiro, Fer Goytre, Ana Marques, Luísa Catarino, Ana Mendes, Marisa Gomes, Nuno Faria vocês são a melhor equipa onde se pode trabalhar. Que o futuro vos reserve tudo de bom! Ao Tiago Marques e ao Luís Gomes pela amizade a partilha das aventuras de uma tese de Doutoramento. A todos os aqueles que não me consigo recordar agora, e são muitos, não é por mal, são 7:30 e aos 40 as directas já não têm tanta piada, obrigado! Aos meus pais e ao meu irmão por tudo, por serem quem são, por me terem ensinado muito e apoiado sempre. Por tudo o que não consigo escrever, muito obrigado do fundo do coração. À minha Mãe que havia de ter gostado de me ver completar mais esta etapa. À Niobe pela paciência, amizade e generosidade imensa. Por fim, um agradecimento muito especial à Susana por ser a mulher da minha vida, por ver sempre o lado positivo, por estar sempre ao meu lado e por termos a Marta e a Sofia que nos vieram completar e dar mais cor e alegria às nossas vidas. E claro muitos brinquedos para arrumar… Marta e Sofia vocês são a melhor coisa que me aconteceu! Index Chapter 1 – General introduction ................................................................................ 7 1.1. Thesis focus and main goals ................................................................................... 7 1.2. Outline of the thesis ................................................................................................. 9 Chapter 2 – The montado: a review of the concept .................................................. 11 2.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 11 2.2. Arboreal composition ............................................................................................. 12 2.3. Systems of production / main activities .................................................................. 13 2.3.1. Cork harvesting ............................................................................................................. 13 2.3.2. Livestock ........................................................................................................................ 15 2.3.3. Game ............................................................................................................................. 16 2.4. Tree density/cover ................................................................................................. 17 2.5. Landscape fuzziness ............................................................................................. 19 2.6. Montado typologies and bird species ..................................................................... 19 2.7. The concept ........................................................................................................... 21 Chapter 3 - The landscape heterogeneity of montado: singular elements for birds .. 23 3.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 23 3.2. Linear structures: natural hedges and riparian galleries ......................................... 24 3.2.1. Natural hedges .............................................................................................................. 24 3.2.2. Riparian galleries ........................................................................................................... 26 3.2.3. Other land uses: pine forests and permanent crops..................................................... 28 3.2.3.1. Pine forests ............................................................................................................ 28 3.2.3.2. Permanent woody crops: olive groves and vineyards .......................................... 29 3.2.3.3. Rocky outcrops and quarries ................................................................................. 30 3.2.3.4. Waterbodies: ponds and reservoirs ...................................................................... 31 3.2.3.5. Rural infrastructures: buildings, roads and fences ................................................ 32 3.3. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 33 Chapter 4 - The importance of the surroundings: are bird communities of riparian galleries influenced by agroforestry matrices in SW Iberian Peninsula? ................... 35 4.1. Abstract ................................................................................................................. 35 4.2. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 36 4.3. Material and Methods ............................................................................................ 37 4.3.1. Study area...................................................................................................................... 37 4.3.2. Site selection and sampling procedures........................................................................ 39 4.3.3. Explanatory variables and data analysis ....................................................................... 41 4.4. Results .................................................................................................................. 42 4.5. Discussion ............................................................................................................. 46 4.5.1. Bird guilds and woodland traits .................................................................................... 46 4.5.2. The influence of the surroundings ................................................................................ 48 4.6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 50 Chapter 5 - Can birds play a role as High Nature Value indicators of montado system? .................................................................................................................................. 51 5.1. Abstract ................................................................................................................. 51 5.2. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 52 5.3. Methods ................................................................................................................. 53 5.3.1. Study area...................................................................................................................... 53 5.3.2. Bird census .................................................................................................................... 55 5.3.3. HNV features and explanatory variables ....................................................................... 57 5.3.4. Data analysis .................................................................................................................. 59 5.4. Results .................................................................................................................. 60 5.4.1. Environmental variables ................................................................................................ 61 5.4.2. Bird guilds .....................................................................................................................
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