Preserving species populations in the boreal zone in a changing climate: contrasting trends of bird species groups in a protected area network

A protected area network should ensure the maintenance of biodiversity. Because of climate change, species ranges are expected to move polewards, causing further demand for the protected area network to be efficient in preserving biota. We compared population changes of different bird species groups according to their habitat preferences in boreal protected areas in Finland on the basis of large-scale censuses carried out in 1981–1999 and in 2000–2009. Population densities of common forest habitat generalists remained the same between the two periods, while densities of species of conservation concern showed contrasting trends: species preferring old-growth forests increased, but those living in mires and wetlands, and species of Arctic mountains decreased. These trends are most probably connected with climate change, but successional changes in protected areas and regional habitat alteration should also be taken into account. Of species preferring old-growth forests, a larger proportion are southern than among species of mires and wetlands, or of Arctic mountains, most or all of which, respectively, had a northerly distribution. In general, northern species have decreased and southern increased with the exception of northern species of old-growth forests which had not declined. On the other hand, bird species of mires and wetlands decreased also in the northernmost protected areas although mires had not been drained in the region in contrast with southern and central Finland thus indicating that regional-scale direct habitat loss did not cause the decline of these species in the north. It is suggested that climate change effects on species in natural boreal and Arctic habitats most probably are habitat-specific with large differences in response times and susceptibility.