Logged Forests, Climate Change Driving Birds In Tropical Mountains To Higher Elevations: Study

New Delhi: Logged forests and climate change are driving birds in tropical mountains to higher elevations due to rising temperatures, a research by the Indian Institute of Science has found. While smaller bird species are able to withstand higher temperatures, and thus colonise these logged forests better, the larger ones appeared to be increasing in the primary (undisturbed) forests, researchers found after analysing 10 years of data. Logged forests refer to the commercial cutting of trees for sale as timber or pulp. Such forests have higher average temperatures and lower humidity than primary forests, thus hastening the movement of birds to higher elevations, the researchers said.

Also Read: Year 2023: Himachal Pradesh’s Apples Face The Brunt Of Climate Change

Logging can thus lead to the loss of large-bodied, old growth-dependent species, and decrease the overall biodiversity, they said.

Further, logged forests also have fewer foliage-dwelling insects, reducing the available resources for the birds. As large species require more energy, this disproportionately reduces the number of large species, the team said in its study published in the journal ‘Global Ecology and Conservation’.

Tropical mountain forests are unique ecosystems that can start at about 150-200 metres and reach up to 3,500 metres on mountains around the world, and are critical to biodiversity.

Umesh Srinivasan, Assistant Professor at the Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), IISc, and an author of the study said,

Birds – and indeed much of the flora and fauna – of tropical mountain ranges are extremely temperature-sensitive and are responding to global warming rapidly. Also, most of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity is concentrated in tropical mountains.

Ritobroto Chanda, former project associate at the CES and the study’s corresponding author said,

In tropical mountains, each species has a particular niche where it is found. This restriction creates much more diversity in a small space.

Also Read: COP28 Roundup: The Hits, Misses And What’s In It For India

Forest loss and climate change present major threats to these ecosystems and there are few studies that have investigated their joint effect, the researchers said.

For the study, the team collected data from the Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, situated in the biodiversity hotspot of the eastern Himalayas and home to more than 500 bird species.

Each day, after setting up the mist nets, the team checked them every 20-30 minutes, weighed and labelled the birds, and released them immediately. In their final analysis, they included 4,801 understorey insectivores – insect-eating birds that live under the canopy of large trees – belonging to about 61 species.

The researchers found that understorey insectivores, often found only in specific niches, are negatively influenced by logging and show steep declines in numbers.

They said that the findings highlighted the need to safeguard primary forests in order to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Mr Srinivasan said,

Logging managers should ensure that undisturbed forests across large elevational gradients are protected.

He explained that this will allow species to shift their ranges upwards in response to climate change and maintain survival. He said,

If species encounter degraded forest while they shift upwards, certain species will most likely go locally extinct.

Also Read: Year 2023: World Famous Assam Tea Is Losing Its Flavour And Yield To Climate Change

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.