| Abstract: |
| Birds play a pivotal role
in the ecosystem, but in disturbed areas their roles may be limited due to the changes of their natural
habitats. This paper studies the birds' habitats in Simalungun and Asahan Districts, North Sumatra. The
study was conducted in four habitats: natural forest, rubber agroforests, rubber monoculture plantations
and emplacement areas. The birds were observed using descriptive survey methods by implementing a quick
biodiversity survey, data were collected along one km transect. The results showed that in total, 142 species
of birds from 42 families were observed in the four habitats. Natural forests had the highest diversity of bird
species, followed by rubber agroforests, emplacement areas and rubber plantations, with a Shannon-Wiener
index of 3.8, 3.6, 3.0 and 2.9, respectively. Regarding the IUCN red list species, 12 bird species of nearthreatened
status and 2 species of vulnerable status were recorded. Based on CITES categories, one species
was listed in the Appendix I, 12 species were classified in Appendix II and 26 bird species were protected
under Indonesian regulations. Changes in the structure and composition of the vegetation in disturbed
forests and cleared land determined the richness of the bird species. The different tree compositions in the
four habitats of the rubber estate plantations and surrounding areas influenced the number of bird species,
bird diversity and species composition. |
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