Effect of habitat type in the distribution, abundance and diversity of avifauna in agroforestry ecosystems

The aim of this study was to investigate if agriculture conservation contributes to the conservation of bird diversity in the mountainous agroecosystems. The number of bird species and the breeding pair density were recorded during the reproduction period of the year 2006 (late April – mid June) in agroforestry ecosystems in NE part of Trikala prefecture. For the importance of habitat type to the species diversity, the following indices were used: (1) richness index (S), (2) diversity index Shannon (H΄), (3) diversity index Simpson (D), (4) dominance index Berger-Parker (BP) and the (5) evenness index Shannon (E). For the estimation of discriminant degree among habitats based on the distribution of species, Cluster Analysis was used. Specifically, in the habitat type “ecotone” was observed four of the five priority species belonging to the Annexes of Directive 79/409. Abundance of bird species and breeding pair density in the study area had significant values in “ecotone”, ‘oak forest”, with large openings, and “Pseudoacacia plantations”. Lower was the number of bird species in “rangelands” and the “fallow land”. Conclusively, heterogeneity created by the presence of mountainous agriculture to the natural environment favors at least bird diversity.