Article

Evgeny V. Barbazyuk, PhD, Researcher of the Steppe Institute, Ural Branch of RAS (460000, Russia, Orenburg, Pionerskaya Street, 11); iD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2866-6993; e-mail: argentatus99@yandex.ru
Pavel V. Velmovsky, PhD, Senior Researcher of the Steppe Institute, Ural Branch of RAS (460000, Russia, Orenburg, Pionerskaya Street, 11); iD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0492-6850; e-mail: velmovski@mail.ru

Barbazyuk E.V., Velmovsky P.V. 2026. Breeding avifauna of the Buzuluksky Pine Forest National Park (Russia) and its biotopic differences. Nature Conservation Research 11(4): 81–97. https://dx.doi.org/10.24189/ncr.2026.031

This study addresses the breeding avifauna and its forest biotopic differences in the Buzuluksky Pine Forest National Park (Russia), an isolated forest with a total area of 866 km², located on the borders of steppe and forest-steppe zones in the south-east of the East European Plain. Despite the large‑scale reforestation efforts carried out in the mid‑XX century, the impact of the newly introduced biotope (artificial pine plantations) on the diversity and abundance of birds within this Protected Area remains unclear. The distribution of birds in natural forest habitats was unknown either. Our study, to some extent, fills these gaps in ecological research of the avifauna of the Buzuluksky Pine Forest National Park. Bird count routes were conducted between the second half of May to early June in 2024–2025 in three forest habitats that were clearly visible on forest management maps: deciduous forest, natural pine forest, and pine plantations. We set five five-kilometre bird count routes in each habitat, traversed one time on foot. The total length of the count route was 75 km (25 km in each type of forest). A total of 59 bird species were recorded on the routes, 48 of them in deciduous forest, 44 species in natural pine forest and 21 species in pine plantations. Deciduous forest and natural pine forest significantly differed in the average abundance from pine plantations according to Wilcoxon matched pairs test. Differences in abundance between deciduous forest and natural pine forest according to this test were non-significant. The bird abundance values were comparable between deciduous forest (1295.6 individuals per 1 km²) and natural pine forest (1118.1 individuals per 1 km²), but they were approximately two times higher than those of pine plantations (633.6 individuals per 1 km²). At the same time, natural pine forests and pine plantations, despite significant differences in abundance and number of species, had the greatest similarity (least heterogeneity) of avifauna (SIMPER: 44.5%; ANOSIM: R = 0.42, p = 0.008; minimum discrepancy between the convex hulls in the NMDS diagram), which was obviously caused by the presence of the forest-forming species, Pinus sylvestris, in both types of forest and drier conditions preferred by this species in the studied forest area. Then, we found 11 indicator species with an IndVal index value of 60% or higher in the deciduous forest: Dendrocopos minor, Turdus merula, Turdus philomelos, Erithacus rubecula, Luscinia luscinia, Ficedula hypoleuca, Ficedula parva, Phylloscopus trochiloides, Sylvia atricapilla, Parus caeruleus, and Parus major. There were four indicator species in natural pine forests: Streptopelia orientalis, Lullula arborea, Anthus trivialis, and Spinus spinus. Only one species with a statistically significant index (IndVal = 60%) was identified in pine plantations: Turdus viscivorus. Pine plantations were characterised by lower avifaunal diversity and could be considered essentially a derivative form of natural pine forests. Currently, the proportion of pine plantations is 50.8% of the total pine forest area in the Buzuluksky Pine Forest National Park. Our research has revealed the need to find ways for restoring the natural pine forests. When conducting various faunal studies, it is impractical to combine pine plantations with various variants of natural pine forest into one biotope to avoid underestimated results.

abundance, birds, deciduous forest, diversity, habitat, indicator species, pine plantations

Received: 12.02.2026. Revised: 16.03.2026. Accepted: 27.05.2026.

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