Abstract The intensification of agriculture has resulted in more homogeneous landscapes and declines of many species associated with farmland or other semi-natural open habitats. In parallel, forestry has also intensified causing declines in many species associated with old-growth forests. While intensive forestry negatively affects forest species, it inadvertently creates new habitats such as clear-cuts, which attracts some farmland species. To understand the potential of clear-cuts as alternative habitat for farmland species, we need to know what makes clear-cuts attractive and whether they are suitable for reproduction and survival. We reviewed literature on the occurrence of farmland birds and butterflies in forest clear-cuts and synthesise the current knowledge on factors and characteristics affecting their occurrence. Many farmland birds and butterflies do indeed use clear-cuts, and have been found in clear-cuts up to ten years after felling. Clear-cut characteristics of importance include age, size, retention structures, land-use history and landscape composition. However, direct measures of resource abundance such as food and hostplants are often lacking. In addition to the potential benefit of individual clear-cuts, the total clear-cut area in forested regions is often large. Together with the fact that clear-cuts may be occupied by farmland species for several years, the potential of clear-cuts as alternative habitat for farmland biodiversity is substantial. Clear-cuts with a history as meadows, the presence of species of conservation importance, or shorter distance to farmland could for example be motivations for focusing conservation efforts on farmland species instead of forest species. Gaining more knowledge on how farmland species use clear-cuts, and what characteristics they depend on, could help inform management guidelines. We are no advocates for forest clear-cuts, but given their ubiquity in forested landscapes, the potential of clear-cuts as alternative habitats for species suffering from loss of suitable farmland habitats is worth serious attention from a conservation perspective.

中文翻译：

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作为农田鸟类和蝴蝶栖息地的森林砍伐

摘要 农业的集约化导致与农田或其他半自然开放栖息地相关的许多物种的同质化和减少。与此同时，林业也有所加强，导致许多与古老森林相关的物种数量减少。虽然集约化林业对森林物种产生负面影响，但它无意中创造了新的栖息地，例如林地，吸引了一些农田物种。要了解林地作为农田物种替代栖息地的潜力，我们需要知道是什么使林地具有吸引力以及它们是否适合繁殖和生存。我们回顾了森林砍伐中农田鸟类和蝴蝶发生的文献，并综合了影响它们发生的因素和特征的现有知识。许多农田鸟类和蝴蝶确实使用了林地，并且在砍伐后长达十年的林地中被发现。重要的明确特征包括年龄、规模、保留结构、土地利用历史和景观构成。然而，通常缺乏对食物和寄主植物等资源丰度的直接衡量。除了单独砍伐的潜在好处外，森林地区的总砍伐面积通常很大。加上林地可能被农田物种占据数年这一事实，林地作为农田生物多样性的替代栖息地的潜力是巨大的。历史悠久的草地，具有保护重要性的物种的存在，例如，距离农田更短的距离可能是将保护工作重点放在农田物种而不是森林物种上的动机。获得更多关于农田物种如何使用林地以及它们所依赖的特征的知识，可以帮助为管理指南提供信息。我们不是森林砍伐的倡导者，但鉴于它们在森林景观中无处不在，从保护的角度来看，砍伐作为遭受合适农田栖息地丧失的物种的替代栖息地的潜力值得认真关注。