TY - JOUR ID - 36609 TI - Bird species richness and diversity along an altitudinal gradient in North of Alborz Mountain (Case study: Kheyrud forest) JO - Journal of Natural Environment JA - JNE LA - en SN - 2008-7764 AU - Shariatie, Mitra AU - Kaboli, Mohammad AD - Msc Environmental, Department of Fishery and Environment, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran AD - Assistant Professor, Department of Fishery and Environment, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran Y1 - 2014 PY - 2014 VL - 66 IS - 4 SP - 365 EP - 376 KW - altitudinal gradient KW - bird species richness and diversity KW - Kheyrud forest DO - 10.22059/jne.2014.36609 N2 - A monotonic decline in species richness and diversity with increasing elevation has often been considered as a general pattern, but recent evidence suggests that the dominant pattern is hump-shaped or unimodal with maximum richness occurring at some mid-elevation point. This study was conducted in Kheyrud forest, Mazandaran province. The study area was divided into six elevation levels according to plant communities. Sampling was carried out in mid-spring at 163 random sampling points, which were located with a minimum distance of 250 m apart, as well as a minimum distance of 25 m from the edge of forest. We applied "unlimited radius point count" using "sit and wait" method to count observed and/or heard bird species from dawn until 10:00 am, lasting on average 10 minutes, and avoiding windy and rainy weathers. Our results revealed the existence of significant differences in richness and diversity between elevation classes. Also, we found a hump-shaped pattern of bird species richness and diversity against elevation, reaching the maximum at mid-elevation. These results highlight the importance of forest communities at mid-elevation in North of Alborz Mountain Range and suggest that silvicultural practices should be managed to conserve biodiversity at this elevation zone. UR - https://jne.ut.ac.ir/article_36609.html L1 - https://jne.ut.ac.ir/article_36609_368b5ef8a74633368255846fa9b6f373.pdf ER -