Bird Community in Riparian Forest

Abstract

Riparian forests are often identified as prime habitat for wildlife including birds. Several factors have been proposed to explain the value of riparian forests. Among those factors suggested are: the diversity of the vegetation structure; the greater productivity of riparian sites related to nutrient inputs from upland sites; the biological interaction provided by the presence of riparian ecotones; the horizontal diversity of water, riparian and upland ecosystems creating an interspersion of different elements of the landscape; and the allochthonous inputs of aquatic production. These factors are reviewed and the importance of the linkages among multiple ecosystems are considered in order to enhance understanding of the population and community dynamics of forest birds.