Birds in Six Communities within a Lodgepole Pine Forest

Abstract

Birds were censused in six communities within a lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forest in the Uinta Mountains of Utah: wet and dry meadows, mature and stagnated lodgepole pine stands, and openings made by clearcutting in 1940 and 1960 and presently having regenerating lodgepole pine stands. The richest avifauna was in the dry meadows, a finding that suggests the need to protect these areas from disturbance. Although a few bird species were adversely affected by clearcutting, many were more numerous in the clearcut areas than in unlogged stands, and the number of species remained about the same. Disturbance of the stagnated stands would be highly beneficial to birds.