# The Impact of Vegetation Structure on Shaping Urban Avian Communities in Chaoyang District Beijing, China

## TL;DR

This study shows that parks with complex vegetation, like dense trees and shrubs, support more bird species in urban Beijing.

## Contribution

The study identifies tree canopy cover and shrub density as key drivers of urban bird diversity in Beijing.

## Key findings

- Olympic Forest Park, with dense vegetation, hosted 42 bird species, the highest in the study.
- Tree canopy cover and shrub density explained over 71% of the variation in bird diversity.
- Parks with complex vegetation showed significantly different bird communities compared to simpler ones.

## Abstract

The proposed research observes the effect of vegetation structure on bird diversity in four parks located in the Chaoyang District of Beijing in a complete one-year cycle (April 2023–March 2024). Point Count Methods were used to conduct the bird surveys (to record 68 species and 4279 individuals) and quadrat sampling to cover the vegetation, discovering that parks with more complicated vegetation harbour much more affluent bird communities. The most species-rich environment (42 species) was Olympic Forest Park, featuring a dense native canopy of trees (55% cover, including poplars, ginkgo, and pines) and a high shrub density (40%). Conversely, parks with less complex foliage, such as the Wenyuhe River Park (35% tree coverage), had fewer species supported. Through principal component analysis, the two variables—tree canopy cover and shrub density were identified as the major drivers of avian diversity, explaining more than 71 per cent of the variation in the first component. The distinct bird communities between the parks were detected with PERMANOVA tests (Global F = 2.76, p = 0.04075), and all two-sample comparisons revealed significance (p < 0.001), indicating the impacts of park-specific environments, such as vegetation structure, levels of human disturbance, and microclimate. Most importantly, the presence of low human disturbance in parks such as Olympic Forest was associated with high levels of biodiversity. These findings suggest that retaining structurally diverse native vegetation, especially multi-layered canopies and dense shrubs, is crucial for enhancing avian habitats in urban parks and natural areas. This article proposes a customised park management approach that prioritises vegetation complexity in resisting urbanisation pressures and promoting urban ecological resilience in rapidly growing cities.

This study examines the impact of vegetation structure on bird species richness and diversity across four urban parks in Chaoyang District, Beijing. Throughout the year, using the Point Count Method (PCM), a total of 68 bird species and 4279 individual observations were recorded, with surveys conducted across all four seasons to capture seasonal variations. The parks with more complex vegetation, such as those with a higher tree canopy cover of species like poplars, ginkgo, and Chinese pines, exhibited higher bird species richness. For example, Olympic Forest Park, with its dense vegetation structure, hosted 42 species, whereas parks with less diverse vegetation supported fewer species. An analysis using PERMANOVA revealed that bird communities in the four parks were significantly different from each other (F = 2.76, p = 0.04075), and every comparison between parks showed significant differences as well (p < 0.001). Variations in the arrangement and level of disturbance within different plant communities likely cause such differences. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified tree canopy cover and shrub density as key drivers of bird diversity. These findings underscore the importance of preserving urban green spaces, particularly those with a diverse range of native tree species, to conserve biodiversity and mitigate the adverse effects of urbanisation. Effective vegetation management strategies can enhance avian habitats and provide ecological and cultural benefits in urban environments.