According to a new Israeli study, the preservation of the bushes in the forests has a unique role in protecting the variety of bird populations in their territory
By Sapir Polak, Zveta - Science and Environment News Agency
These days, when spring is upon us and the holidays are just over the horizon, and thanks to the easing of the Corona guidelines, the Israeli traveler can once again visit forests throughout the country. In perfect timing, March 21 was the International Day of Forests, declared by the United Nations to raise awareness of the importance of forests around the world and promote their conservation.
When we talk about forests, we usually think of trees, but the other types of vegetation within them are also important - like bushes, for example. In fact, according to study Israeli New, the preservation of the bushes in the forests has a unique role in protecting the variety of bird populations in their territory.
Imagine a day trip in the forest. You can wash your eyes in the green landscape, and the smell of fresh vegetation will fill your nose. What can you hear? Insects buzz of course, and also the blowing wind. And what about the sounds of the birds? It is almost impossible to separate them from this pastoral scene, and for good reason. Wooded areas, vegetation and shrubs currently cover about a third of the world's surface, and they constitute the Home the tumor The natural of about 80 percent of terrestrial animals - among them many winged animals.
In the new study, conducted by Dr. Uzi Dagan from the Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology at the University of Haifa and published in writing The journal "Yar" of The Foundation Existing To Israel, it was found that there is a relationship between a more complex understory vegetation and an increase in the presence of bird species.
Understory vegetation includes all vegetation that was not intentionally planted in the forest, but grew naturally in it over time, such as shrubs, trees, climbing plants, herbaceous plants and annual plants. This vegetation is often seen as problematic, due to the perception that its high density could be a fuel for the formation of large forest fires and make it difficult for fire brigades to access when necessary.
More, more diverse, more social
The research findings are based on more than 1,400 bird observations in the pine forests in the Carmel area and in the Ramat Menashe area. During the research, Dagan examined the extent of the presence of the birds in different forest plots, which differ from each other according to the level of density of the sub-forest in them, and the changes in the birds' behavior according to the different environments examined.
According to the research findings, not only is the number of birds in the more complicated areas greater, the variety of bird species in these places is also correspondingly higher. The phenomenon is particularly noticeable near bushes and trees of certain varieties, such as the Eretz Israeli buckthorn - a thorny shrub that is mostly common in Mediterranean groves. According to the study, a possible reason for this is that the birds feed on fruits that grow on the trees and bushes, so a greater amount of bushes helps them thrive.
The research findings show that birds behave a little differently in forests where the understory is denser, especially when they are exposed to external threats. "I checked how the birds behave when they feel that they are in danger due to proximity to a predator," explains Dagan. "Normally, the birds activate some kind of 'alarm system' and alert other birds that there is a predator nearby, and then they crowd together around the predator." According to Dagan, it can be assumed that the birds are trying to convey to the predator that he is visible and that his chances of preying are getting smaller. "During the experiment, I played the sounds of predatory animals to the birds, and I saw that in denser forests, the crowding of the birds was more significant," he says. According to him, this is evidence of strong social behavior on the part of the birds.
A revolution in the perception of the forest
The study was conducted with the support of Keck"ל, which is also known to be actively working to plant additional forested areas. "In the 50s, the incentive for planting the forests was Zionist and economic: the desire was to create jobs for new immigrants and also to use the trees for various needs and sell them to the wood industry, as is done in Europe," explains Dagan. "In the XNUMXs, the concept of the foundation underwent a revolution, and its people came to understand that the forest is a public resource that is also used as a green field and as a leisure and tourism site. From this point of view, birds and ornithology have a touristic value that interests many people, and therefore there is an investment in the subject."
There is no doubt that the presence of animals and the possibility of observing a particularly rich bird population can attract many tourists to nature reserves and forests, but is this a desirable phenomenon from an ecological point of view? According to research from recent years, Tourism massive May cause damage to nature reserves and natural areas. In Israel, for example, damages were caused to forests as a result of fires caused by fires that were not properly extinguished by visitors and travelers. More understory vegetation, which includes shrubs and low branches, can help fire climb up the trees in the event of a fire and thus allow it to spread more easily. This is the main reason that over the years KKL-Junk has maintained a complex relationship with the understory vegetation, and proactively acted to thin it out.
Today, thinning of the overgrown vegetation is carried out, as well as thinning of shrubs and herbaceous vegetation, who create load fuel multi in the area of the forest and which increase its flammability - especially in coniferous forests (such as pine forests). In addition, attempts are being made to apply creative and ecological solutions in the field, such as wife goats, which feed on the bushes and branches and thin out the vegetation in areas that are prone to fires.
"The ecosystem can recover from the fires," says Dagan. "The fear of fires cannot drive decision-making in the field and there is no need to use seat belts where they are not required. Furthermore, it is important to note that in Israel forest fires are usually the result of human actions - therefore the solution should be more explanatory, and include various enforcement and supervision measures ".
According to him, it is important to encourage visits by travelers to the great outdoors, and there is no real fear of substantial harm to the ecosystem in forested areas and to the population of birds that live in them due to more tourism there. "Ultimately, we want people to walk and walk around, and for there to be tangled forests and corners where you can sit and look at the birds," he says. According to him, even if there is a disturbance to the birds, it will be very minor. "This is not what will harm the ecology. In the end, the presence of the travelers does not prevent the birds from living in the forests or nesting, so at most they will receive a 'slight hit on the wing,'" he says.
manage the plant in a balanced way
"In light of the increasing risk to the forest areas in Israel, the vegetation in the forests must be managed in a balanced way, which on the one hand will reduce the risk of fires, but on the other hand will preserve as much as possible biological diversity," says Dr. Adi Levy, the scientific director of the Israeli Association for Ecology and Environmental Sciences and head of the environment division and exist at the Ahava Academic College. "Preserving a certain percentage of the tangled areas in the forest in accordance with the recommendations of the new study, along with treating areas that are sensitive to fires, such as sloping and tangled areas, or those adjacent to buffer zones, roads and paths in the forest - could create a situation in which biological diversity will be restored, but resistance The forests for the fires will not be significantly damaged."
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