Bird Diversity and Bird-Strike Risk at Lincang Boshang Airport

TL;DR

This study surveyed bird diversity and collision risk at Lincang Boshang Airport in China, finding that wetlands host the most diverse bird communities and proposing habitat-specific management to reduce bird-strike risks.

Contribution

The study integrates taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity analyses with bird-strike risk assessment to propose targeted airport management strategies.

Findings

Wetlands showed the highest functional and phylogenetic diversity due to environmental heterogeneity.

Most bird species at the airport posed low strike risk, with only a few large raptors and herons classified as high risk.

Winter had the highest bird abundance, while spring had the lowest species richness.

Abstract

Bird collisions with aircraft threaten flight safety, yet airports can also support many bird species. We surveyed birds at Lincang Boshang Airport in Yunnan, China, and nearby habitats across four seasons. We recorded 148 species and examined how different habitats—wetlands, forests, farmland, and urban areas—shape bird communities. Wetlands held the greatest variety of ecological roles (functional diversity) and the widest spread of evolutionary lineages (phylogenetic diversity), likely because they offer many types of food and shelter. Farmland showed the lowest values, suggesting that only species with similar needs can thrive there. Bird numbers peaked in winter, while spring had the fewest species. We also estimated which species could pose a higher risk to aircraft based on body size, flight height, where they occur, and how often they are seen. Most species were low risk; only a few large raptors and herons were high risk. We propose practical actions—reducing standing water and tall grass in high-risk areas, adjusting vegetation along habitat edges, and using non-lethal deterrents at the runway—to lower collision risk while protecting wildlife.

Accurate assessment of avian community structure and bird-strike risk within airport ecosystems is vital for balancing aviation safety with biodiversity conservation. From October 2019 to July 2020, we conducted systematic bird surveys at Lincang Boshang Airport (Yunnan, China) and its surrounding area. By integrating taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity analyses, we examined spatial–temporal patterns of bird diversity and characterized bird-strike risk. In total, 4859 individuals of 148 species were recorded, representing 51 families and 15 orders. The avifauna was dominated by broadly distributed Oriental–Palearctic species, reflecting the pronounced biogeographic transition of southwestern Yunnan. Functional diversity (FD) and phylogenetic diversity (PD) differed significantly among habitats: wetlands exhibited the highest FD and PD, indicating strong functional and lineage overdispersion driven by high environmental heterogeneity, whereas farmland showed the lowest FD and PD, consistent with stronger environmental filtering. Seasonal dynamics also shaped community structure, with the highest individual abundance in winter and the lowest species richness in spring. Standardized effect sizes (SES) revealed an overall tendency toward functional and phylogenetic clustering (SES < 0), most pronounced in forest and urban communities, while wetland assemblages consistently showed greater overdispersion across seasons. Risk evaluation indicated that low-risk species comprised 76.35% of the fauna, whereas high and very-high risk species accounted for only 3.38%, mainly large raptors (Accipitriformes) and pelicans/herons (Pelecaniformes). Integrating community patterns with risk distribution, we propose zone-specific management: remove standing water and tall grass in wetlands and farmland; optimize vegetation structure along forest–urban edges; and adopt acoustic/visual deterrents and dynamic management within core airport areas to reduce strike risk. Our findings provide a comprehensive baseline of airport bird diversity and bird-strike risk in southwestern China, offering evidence-based guidance for airport ecological safety management and regional biodiversity conservation.

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