Meghalayan farms are also bird habitats

More than 100 species thrive in wooded farms near a protected area

Habitat: Betel vines growing in a farm near Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary in Meghalaya.

We know agricultural landscapes near protected areas are important habitats for wildlife in some regions. Now, researchers have proved this to be true in Meghalaya with the finding that wooded cultivated areas support multiple bird groups that play various roles — from insect controllers to fruit-eating seed dispersers — in the ecosystem. There are more than 100 bird species in the cultivated areas.

While several of India’s natural ecosystems including forests are now ‘Protected Areas’ (PAs), there are many patches that fall outside PA-limits but also support wildlife. Meghalaya's Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary and reserve forest are surrounded by community-managed forests and wooded betel leaf farms. A recent study by Wildlife Conservation Society-India found out how important these wooded areas are for birds.

The researchers studied how different groups (guilds) of birds — including nectar drinkers like sunbirds and insectivores such as drongos — use these two habitats and the different woodland vegetation found there. They find that areas outside the protected areas were used by all guilds of birds, suggesting that these areas maintained a functional bird community.

Studying the presence of such birds in these areas, the team examined the effects of vegetation structure — trees and shrubs — on the use of sites by different guilds of birds. They find that tree cover did not matter because most of these areas are highly wooded; shrub cover and bamboo influenced use of wooded areas by birds.

Species richness

The team also studied species richness in these areas. Surprisingly, agricultural woodlands supported more bird species than the protected areas did: bird species richness was higher in the wooded areas than in the protected areas due to increased number of generalist birds.

But that does not mean protected areas are not important; some specialised species are still dependent on them. “Birds including large woodpeckers were not spotted as much in farmlands,” said Syiem. “So wooded agricultural areas are important supplementary bird habitats.”

A lot of forests are at risk in Meghalaya because they are being converted into permanent open cultivation; encouraging regenerating forest areas or crops that require tree cover would be important, he added.

This well-designed study reinforces that at the landscape level, we can maximise the number of species we conserve by not just protecting natural habitats but also by ensuring the persistence of wooded areas (like regenerating forest) between protected areas, Princeton University-scientist Umesh Srinivasan says in an email.